Innocent Addiction
by Caranina
Summary: 10 year old Naruto and a 15 year old Gaara...Gaara knew there was a reason he hated kids. Will they kill each other before something else blossoms as they get used to being neighbors? I'm not going to write something not rated M.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Thanks again to Mei-chan for beta-ing the first chapter. She was paid with a bowl of miso soup. Enjoy!_

Chapter 1

"Oh welcome home, Gaara." Temari said cheerfully as she looked up to see a redhead teenager stride into the kitchen. Gaara ignored his sister as he began pulling cupboards open. The blonde young woman watched curiously as her brother rummaged through the many cupboards.

"Temari."

Temari jumped slightly at the sound of her name. It was rare to hear her name slip from her youngest brother's lips.

"Y-yes?"

"Where's the bug spray?"

"Bug spray?" the blonde repeated as she gave her brother a confused look. Gaara simply turned to glare at her from where he was digging through another cupboard.

"It's down there, in that one next to you." Temari said quickly pointing to Gaara's right. Temari watched for a moment as Gaara took out the can of bug spray and read the label.

"Umm… Gaara… Why do you need bug spray?"

The young woman couldn't remember the last time she'd seen an insect with enough gall to traipse around the immaculately kept house. They were usually too afraid to leave the safety of Kankurou's room.

Gaara didn't answer as he shook the can. With a slight nod of satisfaction he turned to leave the kitchen.

"Umm, Gaar-?"

"There's a giant, orange cockroach on our sofa. It's too big for my shoe." Gaara mumbled as he brushed past his sister. Temari continued to stare confused as she repeated the words.

"Giant… orange cockro-" Temari's eyes widened as she took off after her brother. "Gaara, no!"

Gaara didn't look up at his sister as he glared down at the atrocity sitting on his sofa, in his living room, drinking what looked like his chocolate milk, in a bright orange outfit. The atrocity simply stared from the redhead to the can held an inch from his nose.

"What's that for?" the atrocity asked.

"It's for a cockroach I found." Gaara deadpanned.

"Gaara, don't you dare!" Temari threatened as she walked over to her brother.

"Where's the cockroach?" the atrocity asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked back at the redhead with large, blue eyes.

"It's right in front me."

"Dammit, Gaara, he's a kid, not an insect!" Temari yelled as she reached out and snatched the can from her brother. Gaara glared at his sister as he tried to snatch the can back.

"What's the difference?"

"There's a big difference-- dammit, Gaara, stop! Are you trying to kill him?" Temari asked as she swatted Gaara's hand aside while moving the can out of his reach. Gaara simply gave his sister a look that clearly stated he had every intention of doing just that.

"Gaara, I'm not letting you poison a defenseless ten year old!" Temari shrieked as she slapped her brother's hand away yet again. Gaara shot his sister a particularly nasty glare as he turned back to the boy sitting idly watching the exchange between the siblings.

"What is it doing here and where the hell did it get that milk?" the redhead asked as he folded his arms and glared at the cockroach.

"_Its_ name is Naruto, I'm babysitting for our new neighbors and I gave it that milk."

"You gave it my milk?" Gaara asked, his voice low, eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned back to his sister.

"I bought you more!" Temari said hastily flashing her brother a nervous smile. Gaara said nothing as he watched his sister sweat. He gave her another glare for good measure before looking back at the source of the annoying slurping sounds filling the room. Both boys stared at each for a moment before Gaara finally spoke.

"We have new neighbors?"

"You know, the couple that moved in about a month ago? This is their son." The blonde woman said. Gaara stared at his sister blankly. "The two guys that live next door?"

Gaara continued to stare. He had no clue what she was talking about.

"…We have neighbors?"

"One is a brunette, the other has silver hair... And yes, we have neighbors! We've always had neighbors! They're just the new ones. They bought the house the Takahashis used to live in." Temari felt her annoyance rise as her brother continued to give her blank stares. Gaara shrugged. He had no idea who the Takahashis was and frankly he didn't care.

"Your hair looks like ketchup."

Two pairs of eyes turned to look at the child sitting there idly slurping milk from a box through a straw. Temari's eyes flitted to her brother, noting how rigid his body was. She could practically see the waves of ire rising off his thin frame.

"I'm going to kill you now." Gaara said softly, the words barely slipping past his clenched teeth as he lunged for the blond-haired ten year old.

"N-now Gaara, he's a kid, you're five years older than-"

Naruto yelped, cutting Temari off as he dove to the side, out of the fuming redhead's reach. Temari stared wide eyed at the mess of milk on the sofa as Naruto scampered past her with Gaara in pursuit.

"I'm going to rip you apart, you little shit!" Gaara growled as he dove for Naruto as the blond shot past him.

"Gaara, watch your language, he's a kid!" Temari yelled in vain.

Temari watched as the two boys weaved around the furniture in the living room, Naruto squealing in ecstasy at being chased, clueless to the life and death situation he was in, and Gaara practically foaming at the mouth as he tried to catch the blond. The blonde woman felt her temper rise as a vase next to the window shook threateningly as Naruto whizzed by. Temari felt like she was watching a movie, the scenes slowly unfurling as Gaara's hand shot out, latching on to an orange jacket. A wicked triumphant grin spread across the redhead's face as he yanked the ten year old back. Naruto flew through the air, his foot smacking into the tiny table causing the vase - the blue and green vase that she found so many years ago in a quaint little vintage shop, the vase that she loved dearly - to slowly make its way to the floor. Gaara's hands were wrapped around a skinny tanned neck, short legs thrashing about as Naruto gasped for air while tugging at the choking hands, when the sound of breaking glass caused both boys to freeze. Two pairs of eyes immediately went to the shattered pieces of glass lying scattered. Those eyes didn't remain on the glass for long as waves of doom suddenly crashed into them, overwhelming their senses. Both boys swallowed as they felt fear grip their hearts. The room suddenly seemed so much darker as Temari loomed, filling the space with her anger, eyes glowing red. Gaara and Naruto felt those eyes pin them in place.

"K-ketchup h-head? Naruto whispered.

"What?" Gaara growled as he kept his eyes on his sister who seemed to be heaving under immense strain.

"A-are we g-going to die?"

"W-why the fuck do you care?" Gaara snapped.

"I-I can't die, I h-haven't even kissed a girl yet!" Naruto whined as he wriggled in Gaara's hold.

"Nobody gives a shit about what you haven't done!"

"Hey, what the fuck do you mean by-- shit she's moving closer!" Naruto shrieked as Temari took a step towards them. The movement from the young woman was all it took to have the two boys bolting out of the living room. Temari bellowed as two blurs dashed past her, pushing and shoving at each other. In an instance, the blonde woman was in pursuit.

"Move out of the way, you little shit!" Gaara gritted out as he shoved at the smaller boy.

"No way! I'm not getting slaughtered by that! You stay behind, she's your sister!" Naruto yelled as he gripped onto Gaara's hand.

"What shit did you eat for breakfast? Dammit, let go!" Gaara yelled as he ran while trying to shake Naruto off.

"Are you out of your mind? I'm too short to outrun her!" Naruto yelled back as he allowed himself to be dragged along by Gaara. Gaara grunted as he ran into his bedroom and slammed the door, locking it.

"Are we safe in here?" Naruto panted out just as the sound of something hitting the door from the other side startled the small boy.

"_You brats, open this door this minute so I can kill you both!" _ The sound of Temari's voice filtered into the room.

"Stop asking dumb questions and help me shove this against the door." The redhead snapped as he began pushing his desk.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Naruto said indignantly as he helped Gaara move the desk against the door.

"_Don't you two dare shove that desk against the door! You little bastards!"_

The two boys dropped to the floor panting as Temari continued to bang on the door.

"I think she's gone now." Naruto puffed out when silence greeted them from the other side of the door. Slowly, he shifted to stare at the teenager stretched out next to him. Gaara simply scowled at the blond as he pushed himself up off the floor. Naruto frowned as he watched Gaara make his way over to a bookshelf against one wall of the room. Selecting a book, Gaara headed to his bed and sat down. Naruto sat up as he observed the older boy. Thick red hair hung disheveled looking as though someone had hacked at it in anger. What looked like a scar peeked from under some of the strands. A slender frame was clad in a dark gray school uniform. Naruto continued to stare as thin, pale fingers nimbly turned the pages as eyes surrounded by thick black rings scanned the pages.

"Why the hell are you still here?" Gaara growled as he looked up from his book. The little boy remained silent as Gaara's narrowed eyes met his. Even as they shrank into slits, Naruto couldn't help but notice the brilliant green that shone back at him, drawing him in. The little blond remained mesmerized as he watched those eyes.

"Stop fucking staring, you little shit." The redhead bit out, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the ten year old. Naruto blinked out of his trance at the harsh tone.

"Geez ,do you need to swear so damn much?"

"Get out."

"And how the hell do you suppose I should do that? The only way out of here is blocked."

"The window." Gaara deadpanned. Naruto stared.

"You're kidding, right?"

Gaara didn't answer as he gave the blond a look that clearly stated he didn't have a funny bone in his body.

"Are you serious? We're on the second floor! You can't expect me to jump out of that window!" Naruto shrieked.

"Why not?"

"You're crazy!"

Gaara said nothing as he stared at the little boy looking at him incredulously. Gaara scrutinized the small figure sitting on the floor of his bedroom. The blond was clad in a bright orange jacket with matching orange shorts that both seemed too big for his body. His blond hair was messy and he only made it worse as he reached up and scratched his head. What looked like whiskers adorned his face as bright, cerulean eyes stared back steadily. The more Gaara stared at the boy, the more he disliked him. To Gaara there was nothing worse than children, except maybe babies and the only thing worse than that were crying babies. So why the hell was one of the detestable creatures in his room? The redhead was yet to figure this out. Gaara's brows furrowed slightly as he contemplated what would be the most efficient way to kill the monstrosity that resulted in the least mess. He could probably smother it with a pillow, which would also muffle any sounds. Gaara was bigger so any struggling from the small boy would be futile. A loud yawn brought the the redhead out of his scheming. Gaara watched silently as Naruto stood up and made his way over to the bed.

"What the hell are you doing?" The redhead mumbled as he eyed Naruto wearily. Naruto didn't answer as he climbed unto the bed and sat down next to Gaara.

"The floor is hard."

"No shit, Sherlock. Now get back on it." Gaara said as he shoved at the body with his foot.

"Oooh come on, let me stay here." Naruto whined as he tried to resist. Alas, it was to no avail as he landed on the floor with a thump. The little blond attempted to climb back on the bed but every attempt was met with a foot. Finally, out of breath and sore from the many times a foot was jabbed into him, Naruto gave up and slumped to the floor.

"You're such an asshole." The blond mumbled as he curled up on the floor, his arms wrapping around his legs as he drew them to his body. Gaara didn't answer as he continued to read his book. For now he'll just ignore the orange roach.

The redhead wasn't sure how much time had gone by before he peeked over the edge of his bed. After much grumbling and shuffling, the boy had fallen eerily quiet. The sight that greeted him almost made him feel guilty. Naruto lay curled up, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, his lips parted slightly, allowing a sliver of drool to seep out landing on the arm that Naruto was using as a pillow.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Gaara grumbled as he stood up and headed to his closet. The redhead rummaged through his closet for a few moments before he pulled out a small blanket. Walking over to the child on his floor, he haphazardly draped it over the sleeping boy. The redhead stared at his handiwork for a moment before glancing at the clock on his desk. It was already after nine. Heading to his desk, he slowly pushed it away from his door. Taking a deep breath, he pulled it open and peered into the hallway.

"You!"

The sound of a voice caused Gaara to look in the direction of his brother's room to see an annoyed teenager glaring at him.

"The next time you piss Temari off, at least give me a call and warn me so I don't come home until she cools down. Do you have any idea what I had to go through when I got home while you were holed up in there like a wuss?"

"No, and I don't care."

"You bastard! I went through so much shit because of you!"

"And what exactly was this shit you went through, Kankurou?"

"Ah Temari! I didn't see you there! You're smelling especially lovely tonight." Kankurou said nervously as he turned to look at his sister.

"Shove it." Temari muttered as she turned her attention to Gaara who was eyeing his sister warily.

"Where's Naruto? You didn't throw him out the window, did you?" Temari asked, her voice daring her little brother to say yes.

"No. He's in here."

"In one piece?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Just get him the fuck out of my room." Gaara growled out as he stepped out of his room and headed to the bathroom. Temari winced as the redhead slammed the door.

"Tch."

"Is everything okay?" a male voice asked causing Kankurou and Temari to turn around.

"Ah yes of course! Everything's fine! Naruto was just playing in my little brother's room. They were getting along so well." Temari said as she smiled brightly at the two men who were now standing at the top of the stairs. A scoff from Kankurou was met with an elbow to the ribs. Kankurou grunted as he glared at his sister.

"I hope he wasn't too much trouble. He can be a handful at times." The shorter of the two said as he smiled back at Temari. Kankurou observed the two men curiously as Temari led them to Gaara's room. The shorter had brown hair pulled up into a neat ponytail with a scar running across his nose. Their eyes met for an instance and he smiled warmly at Kankurou. The teenager found himself smiling back at the man. The other was a few inches taller than the first with startlingly silver hair that seemed to disbelieve in the laws of physics. There was a headband draped in such a way that it covered one eye. The lower half of his face was covered by a mask as he gazed lazily from Temari to Kankurou.

"Oh this is my brother Kankurou."

"Kankurou, this is Iruka and Kakashi, they live in the house next door to us."

Kankurou blinked.

"People live next to us?" Kankurou asked as he acknowledged the men. Temari ignored her brother's question as she stepped into Gaara's room.

"Naruto? Oh he's asleep." Temari said sweetly as she stared down at the blond tightly wrapped in a blanket she was sure had been burnt some years ago.

"Well, there's something you don't see everyday." Kankurou mumbled as he watched the two men walk over to the boy.

"Naruto, wake up. It's time to go." The one named Iruka said softly as he shook the blond. The boy grumbled as he pulled the blanket closer to him but continued to slumber.

"Naruto, come on, brat." Kakashi said as he reached down and lifted the boy. Naruto opened his eyes blearily and stared at the man a moment before wrapping his arms around a pale neck.

"'Kashi?"

"It's me."

"Where's 'Ruka?"

"I'm right here, Naruto." Iruka answered as he tried to pry the blanket from the boy's hand. Naruto only clutched it tighter as he allowed his head to fall onto Kakashi's shoulder with a sigh.

"Naruto, let go."

Naruto let out a groan as he only pulled harder.

"It's fine. Let him keep it, he can return it later." Temari said gently.

"Are you sure?" Iruka asked.

"Yes, its fine."

"Thank you so much for looking after him on such short notice."

"No problem, it was my pleasure. Any time you need us to look after him, please let us know."

Kankurou gave his sister a dubious look at the mention of 'us'.

"Well, we'll be leaving then. Thanks again." Kakashi answered as he lead the way out of Gaara's room.

As the family made their way to the house they'd bought only a month ago, a soft mumble from the blond filtered into Kakashi's ear.

"'Kashi?"

"Hmm?"

"Ketchup-head has pretty eyes."

"Who's ketchup-head, Naruto?" Iruka asked curiously. However, no answer came as Naruto was once again soundly asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Once more this chapter was beta-ed by Mei-chan. This time I paid her with lots of hugs :P

**Chapter 2**

Kakashi lowered his book to stare at the child impatiently bouncing in place as he pressed the doorbell once more.

"You're only going to piss them off if you keep doing that."

"What's taking them so long?" The child pouted as he pressed the bell once more. Kakashi stared curiously.

"Why are you so eager for them to open the door?"

"I want to see Ketchup-head!" Naruto said as he knocked. Kakashi observed the boy standing next to him curiously. A few days after Naruto's first babysitting stay with the Sabakus a little over a week ago, they'd finally figured out who this infamous "Ketchup-head" was. It happened when Iruka spied a scowling redhead teenager emerging from the Sabaku residence. The minute Naruto had spotted the boy, he'd dashed off to the front door. Apparently, Naruto had wanted to bid the boy a good day at school. In return for his efforts, the blond received a vicious scowl from the teenager that didn't seem to bother Naruto in the least.

To Kakashi, the redhead looked like any other typical angry punk of a teenager, but for some reason, Naruto was completely fascinated by him. Kakashi and Iruka were still trying to decide if Naruto's little obsession with the other boy was healthy for the ten year old. Every morning, Naruto would go pounding out of the kitchen, half dressed in his uniform and running to the front door to wish Gaara a good day the moment the redhead emerged from his home.

"Calm down, Naruto." Kakashi drawled as he returned to reading his book.

"Alright, who the fu-" The door swung open to reveal an irate brunette.

"Yo."

The words were cut off as Kankurou stared at the man smiling at him while maintaining a firm grip on the blond who was attempting to bolt past the teenager's legs.

"Uh…hi." Kankurou said as he stared at the two, suddenly happy he hadn't finished that sentence. For some reason the masked man made him nervous.

"'Kashi! Lemme go!" Naruto struggled.

"No, you haven't been invited in yet." Kakashi chided as he smiled down at the annoyed child. "Is your sister around? She said it was alright if I dropped off Naruto for a few hours. Iruka is in a parent-teachers meeting and the pound just called saying our dogs are ready to be released. I would take Naruto, but I rather not since the dogs have been locked up for while. I don't think I could handle both them and him. Too much energy, you understand."

Kankurou blinked at the man for a minute while Kakashi waited patiently for what he had said to sink in. Kankurou wasn't sure what it was about the man that bothered him, but he decided to chalk it up to the mask. Kami-sama alone knew what kind of guy wore a mask constantly. He had to be hiding something.

"uh... Right! Temari's in the kitchen." Kankurou mumbled as he stepped aside to let Naruto in.

"'Kashiiii!" Naruto continued to whine as he wriggled.

"Thanks. I'll just leave him with you, then." Kakashi said before kneeling to face the struggling boy.

"Now then, Naruto. Be good, finish your homework because I'll be checking it when I get back. Don't break anything, **do not** make a nuisance of yourself and **no** swearing, understand? One report of you swearing, and I swear you won't be able to sit for a month." The masked man continued as he fixed Naruto's jacket back in place and wiped a smudge that had miraculously appeared on the boy's nose. How Naruto could get dirty without being around dirt was still a mystery.

"Alright." Naruto said wrinkling his nose.

"Forgetting something?" Kakashi called just as Naruto turned to run off. Rolling his eyes, the small boy turned around and gave the man a quick hug before sprinting past Kankurou.

"Thanks again."

"What? Oh yeah, sure, no problem." Kankurou said softly as he stared at the man. The interaction between him and the little boy was so foreign to the brunette that he'd stood there mesmerized.

"Well, later." Kakashi called as he turned and headed back to his car. With a wave, Kankurou closed the door. It felt strange suddenly having pleasant neighbhors.

* * *

Unlike most people, Gaara didn't need much to make him happy. There were only a few things he needed really; his mangas, enough money to buy his mangas, peace and quiet to read his mangas, and chocolate milk. Anything else was unnecessary, unimportant and certainly unwanted.

He was content leading an unremarkable, uneventful life. The redhead had had enough events to last him a lifetime even if most of them were bad. He went to school, did what he was supposed to do, and came home. The only thing remarkable in Gaara's life was probably his grades which never faltered, and maybe his reputation at school. Gaara was fine with both of those, as well. In fact he was happy with his reputation as the school's resident psychopath. It kept people away (loose translation - people scattered when they saw him coming). If Gaara was to ponder this, he'd realize that most teenagers would fall into a state of depression under such circumstances. Such a title as the one he possessed relegated the unfortunate soul to the bottom of the social ladder but the redhead relished it. After all, with no one to bother him, he could sit and read as much manga as he wanted even in school.

In a nutshell, Gaara was content with his current life. That's what the redhead thought, that's what he felt as he made his way up the stairs; latest copy of Shonen Jump in one hand, a bottle of chocolate milk in the other. He'd finished his homework, done his chores, and he was going to read the night away while sipping his favorite beverage. As far as Gaara was concerned, there was no better way he could possibly spend the evening. Life was as good as-

"KETCHUP-HEAD!"

Gaara froze with one foot hovering above the next step. He recognized that voice instantly. There was only one person with enough guts to call him by something so demeaning. The instance the resounding sound made its way to assault Gaara's eardrum he could see his happy evening practically falling apart right before his eyes. Turning slowly, the redhead saw his nightmare made reality in an orange t-shirt and black shorts bolting up the stairs towards him. Gaara blinked as the thing catapulted itself over the last few steps, arms outstretched to latch onto him. In that moment, right before the little cretin made contact with his arm, Gaara moved and Naruto fell forward unto the stairs. The redhead wasted no time, not even bothering to check if the boy was alright. Instead, he sprinted for the sanctuary of his room with a door that had a lock.

"Ketchup-head!"

He could hear the little monster's feet coming up the stairs behind him. Gaara didn't hazard a look behind him. With a mad dash, the redhead made it to his room and slammed the door. A second later something solid collided with the wood and hit the floor. The redhead smirked triumphantly knowing that Naruto had run into the door and fallen backwards onto the floor.

"Ketchup-head, the door is locked." Naruto whined as he knocked on the door.

"Well, aren't you the resident genius?..." Gaara scoffed, taking a sip of his milk.

"But how can I get in if it's locked?" Naruto called as he knocked again.

Was this kid dumb?

"You're not supposed to get in, dumbass. Now stop banging on my fucking door and go away." Gaara shouted before turning around and heading towards his bed.

"But I came to hang out with you, Ketchup-head, and stop swearing at me!"

"I'll swear at you as much as I want to, and stop calling me that!" The kid wasn't even in his room and already Gaara could feel his blood pressure rising. He was yelling, for kami's sake. Gaara never yelled. The knocking continued punctuated ever so often by a muffled "Ketchup-head".

Didn't the brat ever give up? With a grunt, the redhead plopped down on his bed. Flipping his book open, he began reading, determined to ignore the racket outside his door. If Gaara was good at one thing, it was ignoring pests.

Naruto frowned as he stared at the closed door. He suddenly hated it with a passion. With a sigh, the boy took off his green, Gama-chan backpack and placed it on the floor. Turning around, he sat down with his back against the door. He had really looked forward to playing with Ketchup-head today. For a moment he stared at his sock clad feet and wiggled his toes.

The first time he'd seen the teenager, Naruto couldn't help but stare. He'd looked so cool standing there in his grey uniform, spiky red hair and what looked like a tattoo on his forehead. The dark circles around his eyes had made him look even cooler in Naruto's opinion, and he'd really wanted to touch those circles. Then he'd seen his eyes, aquamarine eyes that stared down at him, and Naruto had wished he had eyes like that. The color was so pale, and instantly Naruto wanted to know what they'd looked like if they shone the way 'Kashi's and 'Ruka's did when they looked at him.

The blond giggled as he remembered the game of catch they'd played around the living room. Maybe Ketchup-head would want to play that again with him. Well, that was kind of what they were playing now, except it was more like cat and mouse. With a nod, Naruto dug through his Gama-chan and pulled out his homework. He'd wait for when Ketchup-head gave up and came outside to get some cheese. For now, Naruto decided he would do his homework. There was no point in making 'Kashi and 'Ruka mad by not doing his homework. Naruto had vowed to try his hardest to be the best son he could be the day they'd adopted him. With a smile, the boy pulled out his pencil and got to work.

"Naruto, there you are! Kankurou told me you'd arrived, but you didn't come see me. Why are you sitting on the floor in front Gaara's door?" Temari asked as she looked down at the boy working diligently before glancing at the closed door with a frown.

"Temari-neechan! I'm playing with Ketchup-head." Naruto beamed at the young woman, his eyes curving up into happy slits.

"I see." Temari said doubtfully. More than likely her brother was holed up in his room, trying his best to avoid the blond child. "And exactly what game are you playing with Gaara?"

"We're playing cat and mouse. See, I'm the cat and Ketchup-head is the mouse. I cornered him in his hole and now I'm waiting for him to come out to get some cheese and then I'll catch him. But while I'm waiting, I'm doing my homework so 'Kashi and 'Ruka won't be mad at me." Naruto explained before returning to his homework.

"Are you almost done with your homework?" Temari asked curiously as she stared down at the math problems the boy was working on.

"Yeah, I did most of it at home already."

Temari knelt down next to the boy observing him. The first time she'd seen the blond, he'd been sound asleep on Iruka's back the day the family arrived to move into their new home. At first Temari hadn't been sure what to make of the three. They didn't look remotely related by blood but they looked like nice enough people even though they seemed kind of strange sometimes. The day the brown-haired man had smiled at her and said good morning had been a pleasant surprise. People in that neighborhood simply didn't talk to the Sabaku siblings.

It was nice having someone to talk to over the row of shrubs that separated their yards. At first Temari had been hesitant but the brunette was so easy to like that she'd found herself chatting with him as the weeks wore on. Even the weird masked man who always had his nose buried in weird books gave her a smile and a pleasant greeting whenever they saw each other. Sometimes he'd even stop to chat for a minute or two.

In this way, she discovered that the three were a family and that Naruto wasn't either of the men's son by birth, but they'd adopted him. The adoption process had been long and arduous (Temari assumed it had something to do with Iruka and Kakashi's relationship), but it'd finally been settled so that they were both his legal parents.

While she didn't get details, apparently the boy's life had been difficult. When she'd finally met the over energetic, loud, skinny ten year old with an infectious smile and whisker-scars, Temari couldn't help but like him. It was impossible not to.

Temari smiled down at the boy as she ruffled his hair. Naruto grinned at her before going back to his work. Most people would have already given up on her brother after experiencing his disdain for human contact. Yet here Naruto sat, contentedly doing his homework and "playing" with her brother who obviously had no interest in even being near the boy. Temari had seen Gaara's reaction to the blond every time Naruto tried to speak to him or get his attention. What was remarkable was that Gaara's attitude didn't seem to faze the blond in the slightest. Temari had concluded either Naruto was completely dense or he was simply that determined to become friends with her younger brother.

"Naruto, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Temari-neechan."

"Why do you like hanging out with Gaara so much?"

Temari's question caught Gaara's interest and the redhead paused in his reading. It wasn't that he had been eavesdropping on their little conversation; it was just that it was somewhat difficult to ignore the conversation happening outside his door when it involved him. Gaara honestly wanted to know the answer to this particular question. Especially since he had been doing everything he possibly could to get the little pest to leave him alone. Gaara had made it a point to glare, scowl and downright ignore his ten year old neighbor when he saw him every morning on his way to school. It didn't work since Naruto appeared again and again at his front door waving vigorously at Gaara and yelling at him to have a good day. This had been going on for a little over a week and Gaara was getting sick of it.

"Ketchup-head is too cool to be lonely, so I'm playing with him." Naruto answered. Temari stared at the boy, giving him an odd look. In the room Gaara frowned as he lay rigid on his bed. Who the hell did this kid think he was? Lonely... he - Sabaku Gaara - was NOT lonely. He was a loner. There was a big difference between being lonely and being a loner. Where the hell did this brat come up with that ridiculous idea?

"And what makes you think Gaara is lonely, Naruto?"

Naruto stared at the young woman for a moment, his face serious as he met her gaze.

"I can see it in his eyes. I'll never forget what lonely eyes look like."

Temari wasn't sure what she had been expecting as an answer but this wasn't it. Somehow though, having this ten year old sitting on the floor telling her this about her brother made the young woman want to cry. Gaara sat up with his eyes wide as he stared at the door. He wanted to be mad at the blond for saying that, he really wanted to, but he couldn't. In all honestly, he really wasn't even sure what he was feeling or was supposed to feel at those words. Maybe confusion was a good feeling because he certainly had no clue what Naruto was talking about. His eyes looked lonely? What did eyes that belonged to a lonely person even look like? Then again, when was the last time he'd stared at his own eyes? Sure, he stood in front of the mirror everyday, but that was just to check his clothing. Despite what people thought about him, Gaara abhorred sloppy clothing. He never looked at his face, he never looked at his eyes, he never checked his hair, and he never looked at his forehead.

"Ketchup-head has really pretty eyes. They shouldn't look that way. You also have pretty eyes, Temari-neechan." Naruto said sweetly before turning back to his homework. Temari blushed slightly, surprising herself. Slowly, Gaara stood up and walked over to his mirror.

"Umm… Thank you, Naruto." Temari mumbled before her eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, tell you what - How would you like some chocolate milk while you do your homework? You can sit with me downstairs and work on your homework. When you're done you can come back here and play with Gaara some more."

Naruto pondered the offer for a moment; while chocolate milk was no ramen, the idea was still appealing.

"Do you mind if I still have that chocolate milk and stay here? I'm almost done."

"Well… I guess that's fine, if you're sure you want to keep sitting here." Temari answered, uncomfortable with the idea of Naruto sitting in the hallway by himself. She couldn't very well force Gaara to let the boy into his room either.

"I'm sure." Naruto said smiling up at the young woman.

"Alright kiddo. One chocolate milk coming up." Temari said smiling back. Honestly, it was impossible not to like Naruto, especially not when he smiled at you like that.

Gaara stared at the redhead looking back at him in the mirror. He'd changed out of his uniform and into plain grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt. Taking a deep breath he focused on his face that was usually void of any kind of emotion.. There was really nothing out of place he supposed. The scar still stood out, angry and red. His hair was disheveled and smooth skin reflected back at him. Slightly, tilting his head to the side, Gaara looked at his eyes. They were the same pale teal that he remembered and they were still surrounded by dark circles that signified his insomnia. Gently, Gaara brought up a finger to touch those circles. Years of very little sleep had resulted in thick rings around his eyes. Slowly, he traced the circles around one eye and then the other. His skin was soft and cool under his touch. Dropping his hand, Gaara frowned. Naruto had said his eyes looked lonely. How could the boy tell? Gaara certainly couldn't. Then again, Gaara didn't know much about how people's eyes were supposed to look when the person was lonely. He knew angry eyes, he knew fearful eyes, he knew eyes full of hate, and he knew sad eyes. Gaara didn't know what lonely eyes were supposed to look like.

The redhead frowned again, annoyed that the brat shuffling like a rat outside his door knew something he didn't. He supposed he could always torture the boy till he explained but then Temari would probably give him hell afterward. How was he going to find out? Gaara walked over to his door and stared at it. Maybe if he simply asked, the brat would tell him. Pushing aside his frustration at having to ask the kid anything, Gaara yanked the door open.

Naruto yelped as he fell backwards, his head hitting the floor with a thud.

"What the hell? I was leaning on that!" Naruto glared up as his head throbbed. Gaara glared back at the blond who was sitting up while rubbing his head.

"Shut up and get in here. You're pissing me off with all the racket you're making out there." The redhead growled as he headed back into his room and sat on his bed.

"I thought I was being quiet." Naruto blinked at the teenager for a moment, before his face erupted in a grin. Grabbing his things together he walked into Gaara's room and made his way to the bed.

"Don't even think about it. Floor."

"What?! Why? I've been sitting on the floor for almost an hour now." Naruto shouted while edging towards Gaara's bed.

"You so much as touch my bed and I swear I'll strangle you."

Naruto shot the redhead one last glare before dropping his things on the floor and sitting. "Selfish bastard." Naruto said under his breath.

Gaara observed the boy as he dug through a hideous, green, frog backpack and pulled out something.

"This is yours, isn't it?" Naruto asked; holding out what Gaara recognized was the blanket he'd covered the boy with. "I washed it for you. Well, 'Ruka helped a bit. He told me how much detergent to put in. Temari-neechan said it's yours. Thanks for lending it to me." Naruto continued as he stood up and walked over to Gaara.

Gaara stared from the blanket to the boy holding it. Naruto fidgeted under Gaara's scrutiny as the redhead's eyes swept over him. Giving the boy one last sweep, Gaara looked at Naruto's eyes.

"I don't want it."

"Eh? Why not?"

"That's none of your business." Gaara bit out, less interested in the blanket and more so in Naruto's eyes.

"Oh ok. Well…umm…may I have it?" Naruto asked, meeting the teenager's gaze. Gaara shrugged. He really didn't care. It wasn't like he had any fond memories associated with the blanket.

"Really? Thanks, Ketchup-head!" Naruto said, smiling at the redhead as he hugged the blanket. He was about to launch himself unto the bed, but a sharp glare made the blond change his mind.

"Don't you think it's a bit childish for you?" Gaara asked as he glanced at the fleece blanket covered in teddy bears.

"I don't care. It was yours first." Naruto answered as he plopped down on the floor. Gaara cocked a hairless brow, but said nothing. He couldn't get what the blanket, being his, had to do with anything. The two sat staring at each other in an uneasy silence.

"So…umm-"

"Do you have lonely eyes?"

The question had Naruto blinking stupidly. "Huh?"

"I asked if you have lonely eyes." Gaara repeated; his voice flat. He'd been staring at Naruto's eyes for a while trying to figure out what kind of eyes the boy had. They weren't angry, sad, fearful or full of hatred. They were a brilliant blue that shone with something Gaara hadn't seen before. In one word, they were overwhelming, but in a way that was almost welcoming. Gaara had a strong feeling that wasn't what lonely looked like, but he decided to ask anyway.

Naruto blushed while shifting the blanket in his lap.

"I don't think I do." Naruto said softly as he scratched at the scars on one cheek. So Gaara was right in his assumption. "I used to, though… before I met 'Ruka and then later 'Kashi. I used to have lonely eyes."

Gaara said nothing to the boy that was staring back at him. Naruto observed the redhead for a while. Gaara was like a statue. As he sat with his arms folded, he made no movement, his face was a blank mask, and his eyes barely shifted as they remained focused on Naruto. It was disconcerting to the little boy who couldn't sit still for more than 30 seconds. The only sign that the redhead was even alive was the faint rise and fall of his chest and the slightly moving gaze of aquamarine eyes.

"Hey Ketchup-head?"

Gaara's eyes shifted slightly. Naruto took that as a sign the redhead was paying attention to him.

"Do you know what lonely eyes look like?" Naruto asked as he watched Gaara. The teenager's response was a slight furrowing of his brow. Naruto watched thoughtfully, as he began cataloguing Gaara's reactions.

"When you look into them, they make you feel cold and empty inside. It's as if there is nothing there keeping the person alive."

Naruto's voice was soft, but sounded loud in Gaara's ears. The redhead didn't so much as twitch as he rolled Naruto's words around in his head.

"Naruto. Iruka-san is here."

The sound of Temari's voice from the doorway made both males turn to look at the blonde woman.

"Alright. I'm coming." Naruto responded as he picked up his Gama-chan backpack and the blanket. Naruto grinned at the redhead whose eyes were now back on him.

"I'll come by to play tomorrow, but it'll be after I finish my homework. Thanks for the blanket, Ketchup-head! Later."

Gaara remained silent as he watched the blond leave his room with a wave. Temari gave her brother a curious glance before following after Naruto. The redhead stared at the doorway for a minute, before rising to his feet and walking over to his mirror.

"Cold and empty." Gaara whispered as he looked at his eyes. He thought about the blue pools that had been looking back at him. When he looked into Naruto's eyes, he didn't feel cold and empty. He wasn't sure what he felt, but it wasn't cold. Scowling, Gaara headed back over to his bed. Picking up his copy of Shounen Jump, the redhead stretched out once more. He decided the next time Naruto would call him by that ridiculous nickname, he was going to trounce the little cretin.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you to the lovely Mei-chan for beta-ing. She was paid with a Popsicle and brownie fudge sundae._

**Chapter 3**

Gaara wasn't exactly sure when it happened. If he deigned to give it a thought, he'd realize it occurred the night he decided to let the kid into his room. Apparently, the insect had taken Gaara allowing him into his sanctuary as an open invitation to plague the redhead with his existence. It was precisely that night when Gaara unknowingly attained the puppy he'd spent his entire life wishing he'd never get. Once, his sister had attempted to convince him into getting a pet. She thought it would be nice for him to interact with something other than inanimate objects and on occasion his siblings. Suffice to say, that idea was quickly discarded after a few choice words from a certain redhead. So why oh why was he sitting in his room being stared at adoringly by wide, blue eyes? What had he done to attain such devoted hero worship? Gaara had tried everything he could possibly think of, short of murder, to get the kid to go away. Nothing worked. Not even his patented glare of doom.

Gaara's head rotated to the side, a devastatingly ineffective scowl on his face as he glowered down at the child sitting comfortably some inches from his feet. Gaara could have sworn the brat was further away the last time he checked. In the span of a few short weeks, Naruto had become the blue eyed, blond and orange puppy that Gaara never wanted. The child followed the teenager everywhere. From the minute Gaara got home from school, Naruto would appear and would not leave his presence until Iruka called yelling for him or one of their dogs appeared at the front door, and in some cases literally dragged the kid by his collar home. On a few occasions the silver-haired man had shown up mumbling something about being kicked out of the house until he brought Naruto home, and not being allowed to use the dogs. The kid had even attempted following him to the bathroom once. Needless to say, that behavior was quickly nipped in the bud before it could become a habit. The last thing Gaara needed was the boy staring at him fascinated while he took a piss.

Blue eyes looked up from the notebook in front them to meet Gaara's steely gaze.

"What." The redhead growled out.

"Nothing." Naruto answered, flashing the other boy a smile, a faint blush adorning rounded cheeks before returning to his homework. Rolling his eyes, Gaara turned back to his own English assignment. A few minutes later, the feeling of eyes boring into him made the redhead look up only to catch familiar blue eyes on him.

"What?" Gaara snapped again. God, this kid sure knew how to test his patience, not that he had any, but if he did, this kid sure knew how to test it.

"I've been wondering...." Naruto said thoughtfully while staring intently at Gaara.

"Didn't know your brain had the capacity for such higher level activities." Gaara said, smirking at the annoyed look he received from the child.

Naruto ignored the comment in favor of his question.

"Why don't you have any eyebrows?"

Gaara blinked at the kid sitting on his floor, staring at him with a frown, while gnawing on the end of a pencil. "Come again?"

"I've been trying to figure it out. Did you shave them off?" Naruto asked, this time rising to his feet and walking over to the redhead eying him warily.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gaara bit out as Naruto stopped next to him and leaned forward to peer closer at Gaara's face. Naruto couldn't help but marvel at the smoothness of Gaara's skin.

"It doesn't look like you shaved them off." Naruto mused, reaching forward to touch the redhead.

"Touch me, and you learn to write with your toes." The redhead growled, leaning back in his chair in an effort to evade the curious fingers.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the other male but pulled his hand back nonetheless.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What happened to your eyebrows?"

God, this kid was annoying.

"Rock Lee stole them! Now stop bugging me, and get out of my personal space. Three feet rule, remember?" Gaara huffed.

"Who's Rock Lee?" Naruto asked, ignoring the remainder of Gaara's words. It wasn't like he ever followed that stupid rule about personal space. He liked being close to the older boy, and as much as Gaara grumbled and groused, he rarely enforced that ridiculous rule anyways.

"Why are you still talking to me?"

"Is Rock Lee your friend?"

"Didn't I say 'stop talking to me' ?"

"No, you asked why I was still talking to you. So who's Rock Lee?" Naruto persisted, flopping on the floor next to Gaara's chair. Gaara glared down at the boy staring up at him expectantly. Cheeky little bastard.

"He's this annoying kid in my school, alright?"

"Why did he steal your eyebrows?"

Was this kid for real? Gaara stared at the boy asking the question in all seriousness. Did the kid actually believe him?

"How should I know? Maybe he thought he didn't have enough."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and seemed to mull over the words.

"You didn't try getting them back?"

"God, you're annoying as hell. Just stop talking." Gaara grumbled, before turning back to his assignment. Just when the redhead thought he'd been successful at shutting the blond up, Naruto spoke again.

"Hey, ketchup-head?"

Silence.

"Ketchup-head!"

"What?" Gaara snapped, while not bothering to look up.

"What are your friends like?"

Gaara paused in his writing for a minute.

"Don't you have homework to do?"

"I need help with a Math problem."

"Fuck no. I'm not helping you." Gaara said. Even though he said it, he knew somehow he was going to be roped into helping Naruto with his homework, again. He shouldn't be surprised.

It was like he'd become the kid's unofficial tutor by Naruto's insistence. That was partly why Iruka didn't mind Naruto spending most of his evenings in Gaara's presence. Gaara always ended up helping Naruto with his homework.

"What are your friends like?" Naruto asked again, ignoring the redhead's statement. The blond had quickly learned techniques for dealing with Gaara. The redhead was more bark than bite. Gaara always gave in in the end. Like the first time he let Naruto borrow one of his mangas. Naruto had followed him around for an entire Saturday asking, and the redhead eventually caved and let him take it home with him.

"I don't have friends." The redhead stated matter-of-factly.

"Why not? You're so cool!" Naruto half-yelled in disbelief. The redhead cringed at the sudden assault on his ear drums.

"Because people give me a headache....like you."

"I bet there are lots of people that want to be your friend, though. You're so cool!"

Gaara didn't respond right away. Instead, he looked down at the child staring at him with those same wide eyes, observing Naruto carefully.

"I'm not 'cool'. Stop saying that."

"But it's true! I wish I could be like you."

Gaara remained silent, his brows furrowing slightly at the blond's words.

"...Why?"

"Because you don't care what anyone thinks, and you're so strong and cool looking. I'm sure you don't get made fun of or picked on. I bet people never mess with you."

Gaara gazed at the boy sitting at his feet, his surprise at the words well hidden. He didn't miss the look in Naruto's eyes. Putting his pencil down, he turned in his chair to face the child.

"I'm strong and cool looking?" Gaara repeated. Gaara couldn't think of one thing that was 'cool' about the way he looked.

"Yeah. Remember that time you picked me up and threw me over the couch because I spilled chocolate milk over your new copy of Jump?"

Gaara twitched at that memory. It had taken Temari threatening to burn his shelf of manga to keep him from disemboweling the ten year old. It was then that something occurred to redhead.

"....Is that why you're attached to me like a parasite? You think I'm cool?"

Naruto nodded as his face erupted into a broad grin.

Gaara frowned slightly.

"Hey, kid."

"I have a name, you know."

"No shit."

"You're not exactly an adult either."

"Yeah, but I'm not a munchkin."

"Whatever." Naruto huffed.

"Why are you always here? Don't you have friends to go play with or something?"

Gaara watched curiously as Naruto's eyes dropped to the floor, smile disappearing. The ten year old fidgeted slightly and mumbled something.

"What's that?"

"Sure I do. That's why I come see you!" Naruto said more loudly, his face set with a determined grin. Gaara didn't miss the way the child's eyes had dimmed.

"Huh?"

"You're my friend." Naruto declared, grinning happily. Gaara simply lifted a hairless brow at that.

"I agreed to no such thing."

"We're friends." Naruto said again.

"No, we're not."

"Yes, we are."

"No, we're not."

"Yes, we are! Stop being childish about it."

"You have no right saying something like that to me. And we're not."

"We are too friends."

"You're so fucking annoying!"

"Stop swearing at me, or I'll tell Temari-nee-chan."

"You tell her, and I'll flush your head down the toilet." Gaara growled. How did he always end up in arguments like this?

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the redhead again.

"Do that one more time, and I swear I'm going to cut your tongue off."

Naruto immediately pulled his tongue back into his mouth.

"You're a real ass, you know that?"

"Who's swearing now?..."

Naruto didn't have a comeback so he simply sat pouting at the floor. Gaara stared down at the child scratching at the floor.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Don't you have friends your age?" Gaara asked.

There! The look from before was back again. For a moment, Gaara wished he hadn't asked. The dejected aura emitting from the small blond was suddenly making him feel uncomfortable.

"...The kids at my school don't like me very much...They say I'm annoying and stupid....Or they just ignore me..." Naruto mumbled while not looking up. If Gaara hadn't been paying such keen attention, he probably would have never heard. He didn't say anything as he continued to stare at the boy, resisting the urge to agree with the 'annoying part'. The redhead was glad he did as he watched the boy sitting on his bedroom floor. The sudden shift in Naruto's demeanor was so out of place, it left Gaara unsure of what to do. The redhead recalled the blond's words from before, about why he thought Gaara was so cool. The hidden meaning behind them was now obvious. Somehow the thought of Naruto being bullied, avoided, made him feel strange. Angry, maybe? Gaara wasn't sure, but it bothered him.

"Let me see that Math problem. Hurry up and bring it over here, before I change my mind." The redhead said gruffly.

Naruto looked up at the redhead. The usual harsh scowl was gone and Gaara was looking at him blankly. It was difficult for the blond to tell what was going through the redhead's mind.

Instead, Naruto smiled at the teenager. It wasn't the usual broad grin he usually flashed, but rather a smile that lit up his eyes in excitement. He was going to take the lack of a scowl on the other boy's face as a good sign.

"Hurry up!" Gaara said, feigning annoyance.

"Okay. Don't get your panties in a bunch." The blond said happily, before scampering over for his notebook.

"I dare you to say that again..." Gaara growled.

Snatching up his notebook, Naruto brought it over to Gaara's desk and placed it in front of the redhead. The small blond took the opportunity to get as close to the redhead as possible, as Gaara ran his eyes over the problem. It was simple enough, and picking up his pencil, the redhead began explaining it to the boy beside him. Naruto tried to focus - he really did - but the way Gaara's hair moved with the teenager's movements was mesmerizing and the redhead's hair smelled so nice. This close up, the edges of the red symbol on Gaara's forehead stood out, distracting him from the older boy's words. This close up, the heat being exuded by Gaara was comforting in a way. It really did feel nice being so close to the older boy. Naruto's fingers twitched from the desire to touch the other male even as his small frame leaned closer to Gaara.

Gaara's tattoo stood out, red and angry against the other boy's forehead, and Naruto really wanted to ask about it. He did once but had only received a glare and a few swear words for his efforts. That was the one thing Gaara had never seemed willing to cave on. Naruto just wished Gaara wasn't so particular about being touched.

"Are you listening?" Gaara demanded, turning to look at the blond surprisingly close to him.

"Yes." Naruto squeaked, his eyes moving suspiciously from wherever they were looking to the book on the desk.

Naruto was close enough for Gaara to see the long, dark golden lashes brushing the child's cheeks every time he blinked. They really were girly in their length, and the redhead supposed the girls at his school would kill for eyelashes that long. Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion as he leaned forward to get a closer look at the book, his body brushing against Gaara's arm.

"Mmmm....I don't get this..." Naruto mumbled.

Gaara bit back the impulsive remark about personal space. Instead, he did the next best thing. Picking up the book, he smacked it against the side of Naruto's head.

"Hey!" The blond yelled, reeling back from the offensive object and a glaring Gaara.

"I hate repeating myself. Pay attention! What the hell were you doing all this time I was explaining this to you?" Gaara muttered as he placed the book on his desk and reopened it. The redhead narrowed his eyes as the boy turned a highly suspicious shade of red. He'd bet anything Naruto had been too busy staring at him. The child's fascination with him always left Gaara confused and irritated.

"Sorry." Naruto mumbled, his eyes downcast as he rubbed the side of his head where the book had made contact. With an exasperated sigh, Gaara beckoned for the boy to come back over.

"Pay attention this time." The redhead grumbled. With a happy grin, Naruto moved closer once more, and did his best to listen attentively.

* * *

When Temari poked her head into her youngest brother's room, she couldn't help but smile at the scene. Gaara was stretched out on his bed, a book held above his head, while Naruto lay on the floor next to the bed, a manga opened happily in front him. The child's legs were in the air, casually swinging back and forth as he read.

"I'm done!" Naruto yelled, slamming the book closed and jumping up. The sound made Gaara wince in annoyance as he turned to glare at the boy. Naruto simply flashed him a grin before scampering over to Gaara's bookshelf. Replacing the volume he'd been reading, he pulled down another and moved back to sit next to the bed. Seriously, Gaara was such a push over when it came to Naruto. Temari had been surprised at how quickly Gaara had given in, allowing the younger boy to follow him around. Despite his attitude, it was obvious to anyone (okay so maybe it was only obvious to herself and Kankurou, but that was besides the point) that Gaara liked having the kid around.

Temari couldn't remember anytime when she'd heard her brother's voice as much as she had in the past four weeks. Somehow, Naruto always managed to grudgingly drag Gaara into semblances of conversation, and the usual scowl that marred Gaara's face no longer reached his eyes. Really, who did the redhead think he was fooling? It was blatantly clear that Gaara really didn't think Naruto was as annoying as he made out the child to be. Temari would never tell him, but it was absolutely adorable how he let the child do things that he'd never let anyone else get away with. Case in point, Naruto was busy flipping through an old copy of the redhead's Shounen Jump, while taking gulps from the large glass of chocolate milk Gaara had retrieved from the kitchen earlier, and apparently sat on the floor - well, within reach of small hands. The young woman snickered. Gaara was pretending not to notice what Naruto was doing.

"Would you stop hovering by my door like some freak?" Gaara called. Temari scowled at the disrespect.

"Would you like to see me dump that gallon of chocolate milk down the drain?" The young woman shot back.

"Temari-nee-chan!"

The blonde woman smiled at the boy looking at her.

"Hey kiddo. Kakashi just called and told me to tell you that if he has to send Buru over here, and Iruka yells at him, you're not getting any ramen for a week... or something like that." Temari said, wondering if she got it right. Kakashi always made the oddest statements. The young woman smiled as she watched her brother eye Naruto collect his things and shove them into his frog backpack.

"Hey, ketchup-head." Naruto called, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"What?"

"Can I borrow this one?"

"Whatever." Gaara mumbled apathetically.

"Thanks!" Naruto grinned. The boy stared at the other male until Gaara finally lowered his book and met his gaze.

"Bye." Gaara mumbled.

At the simple word, Naruto's face erupted in a grin.

"See you later!" Naruto yelled, before dashing out of the room.

Temari watched the blond go, before turning to look at her brother.

"What?"

"Oh nothing! Nothing at all!..." The older woman said smugly, before sauntering out of the room. Gaara only rolled his eyes, and went back to his reading.

"I forgot something!" Naruto yelled as he came bounding back up the stairs, just as Temari made her way down. Chuckling, Temari shook her head as Naruto disappeared into Gaara's room.

Gaara lowered his book to gaze at the boy looking down at him.

"Weren't you leaving?"

Naruto didn't say anything as he stared at the older boy, fidgeting; an expression much too serious for his age adorning his face.

"Hey, Gaara... About earlier... I mean... W-we're friends, right? You didn't mean it when you said we're not, did you?" Naruto asked softly, blue eyes shining as he watched Gaara carefully.

The redhead stared back at the boy. Naruto had used his name. It was strange hearing his name said in that childish voice. Gaara observed the boy, staring at him; those big eyes almost pleading as the question hung in the air between them. It was unsettling. The barest of frowns marred smooth features. It was then and there Gaara decided that Naruto's eyes should never look like that, never look so dishearteningly hopeful, never so vulnerable, never so sad.

"...Yeah... whatever...I didn't mean what I said." Gaara said softly, and felt the strange clump in his chest, the one he didn't know was there, melt as Naruto's eyes reverted to the vibrant, happy mischievousness he'd grown accustomed to. The sudden weight and warmth that assaulted him caught the redhead by surprise, causing him to let out a faint grunt.

"No matter what happens, we're always going to be friends." The words were whispered surprisingly close to his ear. Gaara felt his face grow warm, while he lay frozen in shock. Then, just as suddenly, the contact was gone, and Naruto was disappearing through his doorway. Gaara stared at the doorway, oblivious to the look of shock adorning his face. It wasn't until some minutes later, that the redhead managed to school his face back into a look of nonchalance, before burying it once more in the book he was reading. Naruto had to be the weirdest, most annoying human being in existence. Gaara also added bravest to that list. Other than his brother and sister, no one else ever dared touching him like that. The brief hug was presumptuous, it was impertinent... it was kind of nice.

"....Annoying." Gaara mumbled, as he flipped a page.

* * *

"Here comes our little hellion now." Iruka said lightly, watching Naruto running towards their home, through the kitchen window.

"See? 'Told you I wouldn't have to go over there." Kakashi responded while emptying dog food into a bowl.

"Do you really think it's alright letting him spend so much time over there?"

"The Sabakus don't seem to mind. Trust me, if they did. I'm sure they'd let us know."

"I guess you're right." Iruka muttered, walking around a massive black dog snoring contentedly on the floor.

"Honestly, Buru, the kitchen is no place to take a nap." The brunette said amused, nudging the huge dog with his foot as he walked by. When they'd first started living together, having eight dogs underfoot - especially one big enough to probably need its own postal code, had admittedly taken some getting used to for Iruka. Thankfully, a large enough dwelling to accommodate all of them had always been one of Kakashi's priorities, particularly after the official addition of Naruto to the family. The dog lazily lifted his head and yawned.

"Are things the same at school?" Kakashi asked, running his eyes over the eight bowls of dog food.

"Yeah..." Iruka replied. Kakashi looked up at his lover, noting the look on his face.

"I'm just worried about the way Naruto clings to Gaara... I just... I just don't like seeing him so desperate for a friend... He tries so hard at school..." Iruka trailed off, walking over to where Kakashi stood.

"Maa, it'll be fine. Gaara's the cool older kid to Naruto now. Just give him some time. Besides, it's kind of fun watching him and red together."

"You enjoy watching Naruto pester that poor kid way too much." Iruka said, brushing his hand against Kakashi's stomach, before moving to the stove where dinner was almost ready. Kakashi shrugged, while stepping out of the way for the trail of dogs heading towards their bowls.

"What can I say, I--"

"I'm back!"

The yell followed by the same trail of dogs dashing towards the front door, momentarily ignoring their food, effectively cut off Kakashi's words.

"You know, they'd never ignore their food for me." The silver-haired man muttered, as he watched the end of his largest dog waddle away.

"Stop griping and come help me with this." Iruka said, chuckling at Kakashi's pout. Sometimes the man could rival Naruto in his childishness.

"So bossy..." Kakashi grumbled, before doing his lover's bidding. As the two males finished preparing dinner, the sounds of a child's laughter being overwhelmed by barks filled the house.

"I just wished I could make the other kids see how great he is..." Iruka mumbled after a while, filling dishes with food from the pots on the stove.

Kakashi observed his partner. Before he could respond, the sound of nails clicking against the wooden floor interrupted them, signifying the return of his dogs.

"Kashi!"

The silver-haired man turned at the sound of his abbreviated name to see Naruto sitting happily astride his largest dog, the others bounding along happily. The man smiled, his eyes curving upward, even as Buru stopped in front him and Naruto stretched his arms out. Sometimes, it was so painfully clear - the kind of attention a younger Naruto had craved yet never received. Reaching out, Kakashi lifted the boy off the dog and into the air. For a moment, he wondered if Naruto would ever be considered tall or would he always be short for his age.

"Either you've been eating too much lately, or I'm getting too old for this."

"I think you're getting too old." Iruka interjected, setting the last few dishes on the large kitchen island.

"Want to see how old I'm really getting?" Kakashi answered, shooting a leer at the brunette while depositing a laughing Naruto onto a stool next to the island. The minute Naruto was down, he wrapped his arms around the silver-haired man, burying his face in the other man's stomach. Kakashi stared down at the mop of blond hair against his abdomen. A soft smile lit up his face as he reached out and ruffled the golden locks.

"Welcome home, brat."

"I'm home." Came the muffled response.

Iruka stared at the two for a moment, taking in the sight - the way Kakashi's eyes gazed down softly, the obvious affection in the other man's voice. Even if others couldn't see it, he could; they could. Naruto was special, and he was theirs.

"Are we going to eat or what?"

The brunette couldn't help but smile as Naruto immediately released Kakashi and eagerly turned towards the food.

"I would say that's a yes." Kakashi chuckled before sitting next to Naruto, patting the blond's head. Iruka let out a small laugh before seating himself as well. Naruto grinned back at the two men who'd made his world so much brighter. Iruka decided he was going to do everything in his power to make sure Naruto never stopped smiling like that.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank you everyone who has taken the time to submit a review. Thanks to my fantastic beta Mei Mei for being so great and beta-ing. This time she was paid with two dozen chocolate coated crickets. Enjoy and happy Holidays!_

**Chapter 4**

Gaara sat glowering at the innocent paper bag before him. He wasn't sure why he was glowering. The bag had done nothing to upset the redhead. It certainly didn't look offensive sitting harmlessly on the teenager's desk. Yet Gaara glowered. He felt like it was his solemn duty to glower. If he didn't show his displeasure in some way, the redhead felt like he would have broken some cardinal rule and allowed his little blond neighbor to win the challenge that only Gaara knew existed.

Honestly, it made absolutely no sense. The kid wasn't even there to see. Still, Gaara glared. The classroom had gone a few decibels quieter the moment the steaming redhead entered. Those students that had been hanging around his desk had scattered like cockroaches when a is light turned on. Even now, the aura in the classroom was tense. People murmured softly to each other as they observed the ominous cloud lurking around their stoic classmate.

Just like every other weekday morning, the teenager had expected to see his miniature neighbor yelling at him from his doorway. However, this morning, instead of only further damaging Gaara's eardrums, the boy had sprinted down the path to the street yelling at Gaara to wait while waving his arm wildly. Upon catching up to Gaara, he'd hurriedly shoved the bag into the teenagers hands, briskly wrapped his arms around the redhead's waist, and bolted back to the house. At that point, Gaara had simply stood there in shock at being hugged a second time, so much so that he'd nearly been late for the bus.

With a scoff, Gaara reached out and yanked the bag open to peer inside. At the bottom of the bag sat something wrapped neatly in paper napkins that was emitting a rather enticing aroma. On top the wrapped object sat a folded piece of paper. Gaara blinked at the contents of the bag, the scowl on his face fading lightly. Tentatively, the redhead reached into the bag and pulled out the piece of paper. Shoving the bag aside, Gaara unfolded the paper to reveal a poorly written message. Alert, pale eyes skimmed over the horribly written words certainly not glittering with curiosity.  
_  
"Hope you enjoy the cookies, Ketchup-Head!"_ Punctuated by a smiley face and.... was that a ketchup bottle? Oh the cheeky little bastard...

Gaara was finding it difficult to maintain his scowl, despite the sloppy drawing of a ketchup bottle. What did the kid think he was doing? Giving Gaara cookies? How old did the brat think Gaara was?

"Gaara!"

The redhead winced at the yell of his name. Why was it that he seemed to attract the loudest people in existence? Sighing, the young man looked up from the note to find one of the few people in the school that had enough balls to talk to him, much less scream his name like that.

"Rock Lee..."

"It is such a pleasure to see you on such a fine day!" Lee said loudly, coming to a halt next to Gaara's desk. Students nearby snickered at the comical scene that was Rock Lee but the dark-haired boy remained unfazed, instead dousing the classroom with his overwhelming happiness and passion. Gaara grimaced as he was bathed in the light being emitted by Lee's smile. Quickly folding the letter, the redhead glared halfheartedly. Of course Lee was impervious to the looks, but Gaara had a reputation to keep after all. It would not do for the other students to see him calmly accepting Lee's intrusions.

"What do you want?" Gaara hoped the exasperation was clear to all.

"I'm here to invite you to have lunch with us outside under the beautiful trees so that we can enjoy the remnants of summer!"

This guy just didn't give up. Really, every day it was the same thing. You'd think after having an arm and leg broken by Gaara in elementary school, he'd stay away. Nope, Lee, being the freak that was Lee, decided to make it his solemn duty to befriend the scowling redhead. Grudgingly, if Gaara had to admit under torture who his friends were, the only remotely possible candidate would be Lee, although now there was the possibility of another...

Gaara didn't answer right away, instead letting Lee stew in his own enthusiasm for a few moments. Reaching out, Gaara opened the small paper bag on his desk and pulled aside the bundled napkin. Inside sat six cookies. Nearby, he could feel the barely restrained energy of Lee as the boy tried to remain put long enough to receive Gaara's answer. How it was possible for one person to generate that much energy, much less have eyebrows that thick, was beyond Gaara's comprehension. But back to the cookies. Reaching into the bag, Gaara pulled out one and sniffed it. Twisting it this way and that, the teenager inspected the cookie, noting the chocolate chips and bits of nut in it. Shrugging, Gaara took a bite and was surprisingly greeted by an explosion of what had to be a tiny bit of heaven on his tongue. Unconsciously, the redhead closed his eyes and chewed slowly. Unbeknown to the teenager, a look of bliss flashed across his face replacing briefly his usually dour expression. This was a damn good cookie!

When Gaara finally swallowed and opened his eyes, he was greeted by a wide-eyed Lee.

"....That must be some cookie." Lee mumbled.

"What's that?" Gaara snapped, his usual look of annoyance falling back into place.

"So lunch then? Meet us at the usual benches?" Lee almost squeaked out.

"Whatever." Gaara huffed, dropping the bitten cookie back in the bag and crumpling it closed.

Lee grinned widely, understanding perfectly that "whatever" was Gaara's way of affirmation. God forbid any actual word of agreement be uttered from the redhead's mouth.

"See you later then!" Lee yelled before bounding over to another boy in the room. Rolling his eyes, Gaara stashed his snack aside and turned to look out the window until the teacher entered, his mind returning to his mini-neighbor.

By the time Gaara made it to the large tree he was supposed to meet Lee under (The redhead had deliberately stalled in the classroom. It certainly would not do to have seemed eager to spend his lunch with others), said male was already gathered there with two others. Gaara recognized them easily. The girl, whose name was TenTen was in the same class as Lee.

However, the other male, Hyuuga Neji happened to be in the same class as Gaara, though they never spoke to each other. There was currently an interesting rumour going through the school about Hyuuga Neji, and for a moment Gaara wondered if it was true. The redhead was greeted excitedly by Lee who paused in his conversation with TenTen to boisterously welcome the new addition to their group. Gaara's response was a grunt before he sat at the small table across from Neji, and next to Lee.

Lee simply grinned before turning back to TenTen who acknowledged Gaara's arrival with a simple hello. Neji didn't bother looking up from the book opened next to his lunch.  
And that was how lunch commenced, Lee and TenTen chatting, Neji reading, and Gaara simply enjoying his lunch while observing others. It wasn't the first time the redhead had eaten with the small group. As a result, they understood how things went. Gaara would eat with them as long as he wasn't spoken to. The redhead had no interest in having a conversation and it was usually in everyone's best interest not to engage the redhead in such. Really, the only ones who ever talked were Lee and TenTen, Neji chiming in every once in a while if he was directly addressed but never lifting his gaze from the book before him.

As Gaara nibbled on the cookies Naruto had given him, he couldn't help but think about the irritating ten-year old. The boy just didn't know when it was in his best interest to give up. On the best of days he was a nuisance, like an itch that you just couldn't reach. Pulling out the last cookie, Gaara stared at it for a while before biting into it, his mind wandering back to what Naruto had said to him a few days ago. He couldn't help but wonder what the child was doing now. Was he sitting with other kids his age having lunch like Gaara, or was he sitting somewhere by himself sulking? Was he in class, or was he being made fun of on the school playground? Was he being picked on, or was he finally making friends? It was strange to think someone like Naruto would have a hard time anywhere. By the time he arrived at Gaara's home, he was always so excited and anxious to tell Gaara about something that happened to him or the other, that gave the impression school was great.

Gaara knew first hand how cruel kids that age could be despite their perceived innocence.

_"No matter what happens, we're always going to be friends."_

"Really, why the hell would I want to be friends with a kid so damn annoying..." Gaara grumbled to himself before popping the last bit of cookie into his mouth.

"Talking to yourself is usually a sign of insanity." A low voice intruded.

Looking up, Gaara met the steady gaze of Neji observing him curiously. Gaara held the brunet's gaze for a moment before sneering at the other male.

"Who ever said I was sane, Hyuuga?" Gaara bit out before rising to his feet and picking up his empty lunch box.

"See you later, Gaara!" Lee yelled. Another unspoken rule, never stop Gaara when he's decided he's had enough of your company. With a sideways glance, Gaara stalked off. Neji followed the male momentarily with his eyes before returning to his book, tuning out the voices of his two friends, a slight smile on a his lips.

* * *

Iruka glanced over at the child sitting in the passenger's seat next to him. Naruto was busy talking a mile a minute, not really caring if Iruka was actually listening to him or not. The older man smiled slightly for Naruto's benefit as the child looked at him. Naruto grinned wildly back, looking forward once more and continuing with his story, missing the frown that came over his guardian's features. At the end of the school day, the brunet had been forced to meet with a parent of one his not so well behaved students. By the time he'd finished with the meeting and emerged in the school's playground, he'd found the little blond sitting sideways on a swing staring longingly at the other children playing together. He'd found himself stopping and staring at the pitiful sight. The look on Naruto's face, the way his large eyes had stared at the other kids made Iruka's heart twist in anguish. Naruto wasn't in his class, but he often spoke to the boy's teacher. He knew Naruto was often made fun of, a lot of it directed at his scars and poor grades even though he'd been making progress in his schoolwork. Still, the blond did have a way to go.

Iruka was at a loss as to what to do. He knew Naruto was trying to hide it from them so they wouldn't worry. When Iruka asked him why he was always having lunch in the teacher's lounge, he always replied that he was doing it to spend more time with his father, before flashing the brunet a smile. The older male knew the truth - it was so the blond could eat in peace without being tormented. Iruka knew all too well what it was like to be the butt of everyone's jokes. He wasn't like Kakashi; he wasn't particularly smart growing up, he wasn't a particularly handsome child, and when puberty hit, he certainly was not particularly straight. Of course, over the years he'd learned to use what qualities he had to his advantage, and he'd worked hard. He'd come to realize people often underestimated him because of his appearance, and he'd learned to use that to his benefit. Glancing to the side, Iruka couldn't help but smile. Naruto definitely did have a lot going for him, he just needed to figure out what and how to use it to give him an edge. Iruka was certainly an expert at that, and he'd do everything in his power to help Naruto.

"'Ruka, stop! Stop now!" Naruto yelled suddenly, grabbing his father's arm, causing the older man to jump and slam down on the breaks.

"Naruto, what the hell?!" The brunet shouted, staring wide eyed at the child next to him, and not a little bit shaken. "Why did you do that? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"It's Ketchup-head!" Naruto shouted back excitedly while wrestling with his seatbelt.

"What?" Iruka stared confused.

"Back there! It's Ketchup-head!" Naruto said impatiently, opening the door and bolting from the car.

"What the hell-- Naruto!!!" The brunet was definitely panicking now. Thanking the Gods that traffic was so light and that he'd managed to stop close enough to the sidewalk, Iruka parked the car and jumped out himself to chase after his erratic son.

Gaara had stopped walking upon seeing the car suddenly screech to a halt.

"What the fuck?!" The redhead swore, frozen on the spot, his eyes widening as the child that had been on his mind all day, clambered out and dashed towards him, all the while yelling that hated nickname.

"Ketchup-head!" Naruto shouted in glee as he skidded to a halt in front the teenager, who'd managed to stop the rampaging kid with a firm grip on his shoulders just before Naruto tackled him.

"What the hell?" Gaara questioned, his eyes scanning the boy.

"I came to say hi!! Hi, Ketchup-head!" Naruto said, ignoring the older boy's question. He was too busy staring excitedly at the teenager.

"Is that it?" Gaara asked, his voice dangerously low.

Naruto nodded while grinning

"What the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous what you did is?! You don't bolt out of a car in the road like that! Are you fucking insane?" Gaara growled, shaking the boy. He was beyond pissed. He could care less that a few passersby were staring at him as he shook the smaller boy.

"But--" Naruto stammered, the happy expression gone as Gaara yelled at him. Gaara ignored the crestfallen expression. The moment he'd seen Naruto run out of the car like that, his insides had run cold. All he wanted to do was trounce the hell out of Naruto for pulling a stunt like that.

"But what?!... You could have caused a car accident or get hit by something. Did you even think before you came out? What the hell is wrong with you? Why the hell would you do that?!"

"I saw you and wanted to say hi..." Naruto said meekly as he stared up at the teenager. Large blue eyes were watery as they watched the angry face of the other male. Gaara was seriously mad at him.

"Naruto!" Running up to the two males, Iruka snatched Naruto from Gaara's grasp, and turned the boy around to face him.

"I saw Ketchup-head..." Naruto mumbled, his face red.

"What were you thinking?"

Iruka's heart had stopped the moment Naruto had jumped out of the car. Luckily, they'd been driving through a neighborhood that generally had little traffic.

"Don't you ever do something like that again!"

"I just--"

"I don't want to hear it. Just get back in the car."

Looking over at Gaara who was staring at Iruka's furious face, the blond hesitated.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut at the heated look Iruka was giving him. Turning on his heels, the blond made his way back to the car.

Staring at the spot Naruto recently vacated, Iruka took a few deep breaths to calm himself while covering his face with his hands.  
Gaara shifted his backpack on his shoulder.

The sound of movement caught Iruka's attention and had him turning to the young man. Iruka studied the younger male with a slight frown. This was beginning to concern him, Naruto's clinging to the older male. He supposed it made sense. Gaara was probably one of the few people other than himself and Kakashi to really show Naruto any kind of attention. Naruto considered the other male to be his first friend, probably his only, but Iruka wasn't going to dwell on that.

"I'm really sorry about that. He knows better than to do something like that." Iruka finally said.

"It's...okay." Gaara mumbled.

The two looked at each other for a moment. They'd never really spoken. Iruka usually chatted with Temari and he often exchanged pleasantries with Kankuro, but he'd never spoken to Gaara, although he was Naruto's favorite topic. He suddenly felt awkward around the teenager. Chalking it up to Naruto's stunt still leaving him rattled, the brunet cleared his throat.

"Do you want a ride?"

Gaara stared at the other man silently. A fleeting memory of the brunet kissing his partner popped into his mind. They'd had the blinds open and Gaara had seen them one evening when he'd been forced to take the trash out. He'd never actually seen two men kissing. Surprisingly, he hadn't found it disgusting, a bit unnerving, they were his neighbors after all but certainly not disgusting. On the other hand, his sister had demonstrated no qualms about enjoying the show that evening.

"....Okay." The redhead mumbled out, shoving the memory aside.

When they got to the car, Naruto was sitting quietly in the front seat, staring down at his lap; too embarrassed to look up.  
Iruka sighed before starting the car. The ride back only served to exacerbate the awkwardness between them. The brunet continuously attempted making conversation with the redhead who gave him only minimal responses. Gaara inwardly grumbled as the man continued to talk to him, yet he grudgingly found himself answering. At one point, Iruka wanted to laugh at the scowl on the boy's face. Gaara was actually a cute kid, and Iruka wondered if he was popular at his school. Judging from the sour disposition, he probably scared the other students away.

The blond was clinging to every word out of the redhead's mouth, and kept stealing peeks through the rear view mirror. Once Gaara had caught him. Naruto had quickly looked away, his face turning a bright red as he fidgeted. Iruka for his part didn't miss any of it.

"Well, here you are." Iruka said, pulling up in front of the Sabaku's house.

"Thanks." Gaara said softly as he opened the door. He glanced once over at Naruto who had turned around to stare at him sheepishly. The redhead stared at the boy for a moment before closing the door and heading to his home. Iruka glanced to the side to take in Naruto's crestfallen face. The blond looked close to tears. Something about all of this was beginning to bother him.

"How about ramen for dinner? We can order." Iruka suggested as he pulled into the driveway. Naruto's face lit up at this, but his eyes still held skepticism as he stared at the older man.

"You're still going to be punished." The brunet said quickly, understanding Naruto's confusion. "You're not allowed to go to the Sabaku's house for the next two days, as well as today. And don't even think about protesting."

Naruto immediately snapped his mouth closed. The joy he'd felt at having ramen was dissipated by Iruka's punishment.

"Don't you ever do something like that again. You're old enough to know better than that." Iruka said forcefully, pulling into the garage and turning the car off. He looked over at Naruto who was once again staring at his lap.

"I'm sorry..." The child mumbled. Iruka could practically hear the tears in his voice.

"Naruto-"

"I just really wanted to talk to him then... that's all."

The older man said nothing for a while, observing the child next to him.

"Now he's mad at me too..."

"Come on, let's go inside. I can hear the dogs causing a ruckus."

With a nod, but still not meeting his eyes, Naruto climbed out.

* * *

"Where's your puppy?" Kankuro said loudly, strolling into Gaara's room. Gaara simply ignored him as he continued reading. Naruto hadn't shown up that evening, and it left the redhead wondering if maybe he'd been a little too harsh. Maybe he'd finally scared the kid off.

"You finally scared him off? Heh, I knew it was too good to last. With that shitty expression of yours..."

Gaara didn't answer, instead he decided to roll on his side, turning his back to his brother. Kankuro simply saw that as an invitation. Pushing some books and papers aside, the brunet sat on the end of Gaara's desk, resting his feet comfortably on the redhead's chair.

"You know, it was actually kind of adorable, the way he followed you around yelling Ketchup-head."

Kankuro grinned when Gaara's form twitched at the nickname. It'd been a while since he tormented his little brother.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say he had a crush on you. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he was. After all, look at his par-"

A book flew across the room and made solid contact with Kankuro's forehead.

"He's fucking ten, you sick fuck! And get the fuck out of my room!"

Gaara had rolled back over and was sitting up, glaring at his brother.

Kankuro clutched his head where the book had made contact.

"That hurt, you freak!"

"I was actually aiming for your eye!"

Kankuro blinked at his brother. Gaara was really pissed. Normally it would take a lot more than that to get a rise out of the stoic redhead, and at least a half hour more of taunting before Gaara became violent with him. Kankuro's face erupted in a grin.

"Don't tell me you're missing the munchkin."

Gaara's face darkened.

"Get out."

"So he has grown on you! You actually like having him around."

"Kankuro." Gaara growled.

" Awww, the big bad Gaawa has a lickle fwiend." Kankuro mocked, barely able to restrain his laughter.

"I do not have a friend, and stop farting on my desk you, ass!"

"That came out by accident." Kankuro muttered. The brunet chortled as a vain popped out on his brother's forehead. Gaara's face screwed up into a look of disgust.

"I swear I'm going to--"

"Kankuro! get your ass down here, now!" The voice of their sister yelling pierced the air.

"What the hell does she want?" Kankuro groused, but didn't hesitate in hopping off the desk and heading out of the room. As much as he enjoyed pestering his siblings, he knew better than to disobey Temari when she took on that tone. Like Gaara, she had serious anger issues.

"Catch you later, doom and gloom. Try not to sulk too much. I'm sure the munchkin will show up soon. Maybe even tonight to cuddle with you."

This time, Kankuro managed to dodge the pillow that headed his way.

Running his hands through his hair, Gaara muttered choice curses under his breath as he glared at his brother's retreating frame.

_"Don't tell me you're missing the munchkin." _

"Who would miss that pest?" Gaara grumbled to himself. He certainly wasn't missing the boy; it's just that he couldn't get the pathetic look on Naruto's face as he had left the car out of his head. Maybe he should have said something to him. For a moment, Gaara briefly wondered if he should go over there. He could probably use dropping off a manga as an excuse.

Naruto had looked so utterly miserable after Gaara had yelled at him. He'd looked close to tears. Guilt gnawed away at his insides as he headed to his desk and sorted the papers and books Kankuro had shoved aside. Maybe he shouldn't have yelled as much. Naruto had looked so incredibly happy to see him. The redhead sank down heavily in his chair. Maybe he could call. The teenager quickly squashed that idea. Angrily he snatched up a nearby textbook. The kid was definitely turning him into a sap. He'd never admit it, but he was beginning to develop a soft spot for the boy. His father looked really mad; Gaara hoped Naruto wasn't in too much trouble.

"So what did he do?" Kakashi said idly, wrapping his arms around his lover who was busy pulling take-out containers out of some bags.

"What makes you think he did anything?" Iruka answered, leaning back into the embrace of the taller man.

"I come home to find you here by yourself, the dogs no where in sight, well most of them..." Kakashi answered, glancing over to the snoring Buru looking everything like a bear splayed on the floor. "...which means Naruto must be here and not over at the Sabakus. The house is quiet though, so he did something and got in trouble, and now he's in his room sulking with the dogs."

Sighing, the brunet explained what happened. Kakashi listened as he rested his chin on Iruka's shoulder.

"You should have seen the way he looked. He's having a really hard time adjusting at school, and I feel like he's clinging to Gaara because of it."

Kakashi pulled away and walked over to a nearby counter, leaning against it while folding his arms. His mask was down but his eye-patch was still in place. The sleeves of his shirt were folded up to the elbow and he'd tugged his tie loose. The tie was one of Iruka's favorites. There were many happy memories attached to that silk, dark blue tie, ones involving Kakashi's office, Kakashi's car, their garage, the men's room at that restaurant they went to last year for their anniversary....

"I'm glad he's finally made a friend. It's just that... I wish he'd talk about what's going on at school. I told him he can't go over there for the next two days."  
Kakashi nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Do you think I was too strict? You should have seen his face. Gaara yelled at him too... I think he was more concerned with Gaara being mad at him than he was with me yelling at him. Of course, that was until I told him he couldn't go over there. When I saw him jump out of the car like that...I got so scared. I think I was so panicked, I might have yelled a little too much."

"Where is he?" Kakashi finally asked.

"In his room."

"I'll go check on him. You weren't too strict. If anything you might have been too lenient, having ramen for dinner and all." Kakashi said before moving forward to kiss Iruka on the nose.

"You worry too much."

"Oh please, I know you're concerned too." The brunet muttered, wrinkling his nose.

"He's our son."

Iruka smiled softly at that.

"Go check on him. He's supposed to be doing his homework. His teacher said he's been improving."

"Yes, dear."

Iruka glared half-heartedly, causing Kakashi to chuckle as he left the kitchen.

"Naruto, I'm coming in." Kakashi said before pushing open Naruto's bedroom door. He entered to find the boy sitting in the middle of his pack of dogs furiously scrubbing at his face. Soft sniffles could be heard, indicating the child had been crying.

"Hey, I'm home." Kakashi said quietly, walking over to the boy and sitting next to him. Finally, moving his hands away, Naruto looked up at the older man, before quickly averting his gaze to the floor.

"Welcome home."

Kakashi observed the boy for a moment. His eyes were red and puffy and there were tear streaks down his cheeks. He was still sniffling a little and his sleeve was wet. The dogs were whining softly, while staring from him to Naruto.

"Iruka told me what happened. You really scared him you know"

The blond stiffened at the words, but kept his eyes on the floor. Nervously, he began plucking at his toes and hoped he wasn't going to be punished by Kakashi too. Naruto knew he sometimes got off easy with Iruka. Kakashi, on the other hand, was always very thorough when it came to discipline.

"I'm sorry." The blond mumbled, sounding as though he would break down any moment.

"Iruka's not mad at you anymore, just worried. You understand why what you did was wrong?"  
Naruto nodded.

"So that means there won't ever be a repeat incident?"

The blond shook his head vigorously.

"Did you already apologize to Iruka?"

Another nod from the blond.

"Good. Come here."

Slowly, Naruto crawled over to Kakashi. The older man wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him to his side.

The two sat in silence for a moment before Naruto spoke up.

"Kashi, can I ask you something?"

"What's that?"

"When 'Ruka's mad at you, how do you make him not mad anymore?"

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at this, while reaching to the side to scratch at the bandages on one of the dogs wedged against his leg with his free hand.

"Why do you want to know?"

The blond watched as Kakashi's fingers moved over the bandages on Uhei's head.

"Gaara's really mad at me."

The words were low and dismal. Kakashi observed the boy sitting next to him.

"Well..." Here the older man had to pause. He couldn't very well tell his ten-year old son what he really did when Iruka was mad at him. It usually involved him begging for forgiveness accompanied by large quantities of gifts which, if all went well, lead to him, to make the brunet forget the vestiges of his anger, allowing Iruka to screw his brains out. An angry Iruka certainly was a passionate Iruka.

"How about you apologize?" Kakashi offered.

"I can't go over there, though. Iruka told me I can't..." The child said, pouting.

"Tell you what - how about you call him later tonight, before you go to bed, and say you're sorry. You can ask Iruka for the number."

"Do you think Iruka will let me?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"I'm sure."

The blond visibly brightened at that. The look of relief that crossed his face had Kakashi staring thoughtfully.

"Go wash your face. You don't want Iruka to know you were crying do you?"

"I wasn't crying!"

"Of course you weren't."

Naruto pouted at the smiling man, but got up to do as told.

* * *

Naruto sat on his bed staring at the phone, in orange pajamas dotted with green frogs. Iruka had allowed him to take the phone to his room after noticing the boy's nervousness and shameful blush. Pakkun lay stretched out on the bed, swatting the blond every now and then to have the pads of his paw rubbed.

"Do you think he's still mad, Pakkun?" The blond child questioned while indulging the small dog.

Gaara's ire had really scared him. Despite his behavior, Gaara was usually very tolerant of him, and in fact, Naruto was sure the redhead was beginning to warm up to him. The blond had come to realize a lot of Gaara's behavior towards him was an act. Earlier though, there was no acting when the redhead had yelled at him like that. Naruto hoped Gaara wouldn't be mad at him long. Hanging out with Gaara was what he looked forward to most every day. He'd even give up ramen, if it meant he could be around the redhead. What if Gaara said he didn't want to be friends with him anymore? Naruto had no idea what he would do, if that happened.

"No matter what, we're always going to be friends." The boy said to himself, before quickly dialing the number.

Gaara stared down at the text book open before him. He'd been finding it hard to focus all evening. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was already eight. Setting his pencil aside, he stood and stretched.

"Gaara, you have a phone call." A smirking Temari interrupted, barging into the room. Gaara blinked at his sister before scowling. Nobody ever called him, not even Rock Lee. Actually, he didn't even think Rock Lee had his phone number.

"You're sure it's not a wrong number?"

"Positive." The young woman answered, walking over to her younger brother and shoving the phone in his face.

Gaara stared at the phone skeptically before gingerly reaching out and taking it.

"So? Who is it?"

"Why don't you find out yourself?" Temari bit out, before spinning on her heels and leaving.

Lifting the phone to his ear, Gaara listened, but hesitated.

"Umm....Gaara?" Naruto called timidly; he'd heard the exchange between Gaara and his sister.

The sound of the familiar, young voice caught Gaara off guard. The last thing he expected was for Naruto to call him.

"...Hello?"

"I'm here."

Naruto fidgeted on his bed.

"I-It's Naruto."

Gaara didn't say anything as he leaned back in his chair. The blond's nervousness was clear through the phone.

"Umm..."

The redhead's silence was making the boy uncomfortable.

"Why did you--"

"I'm sorry!"

Gaara cocked a hairless brow at this.

"For?"

"For earlier today. I'm really sorry for making you mad! Please don't be mad at me anymore!" Naruto almost yelled, while picking at one of the green frogs frolicking on his pajama top.

Gaara didn't say anything for a moment as he stared absentmindedly at his desk. Closing his eyes for a moment, the teenager reopened them.

"Gaara?"

"...Why are you sounding so pathetic?"

Naruto instantly snapped at the bait. "I'm trying to apologize! Don't be such a bastard!"

Gaara's lips quirked slightly at the retort. The blond was back to his old self.

"...I... wasn't mad."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I was not."

"You were! I was there, remember?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, and stop being so damn irritating." Gaara continued, picking up a pencil and twirling it between his fingers.

"Why can't you accept my apology and stop being so mean?" Naruto yelled in frustration.

"Why should I?"

The blond opened his mouth to answer, but quickly snapped it shut. Gaara could practically hear the understanding coming over the blond. Gaara had already accepted his apology.

"Hey, chibi."

"Don't call me that. I'm ten, you know."

"Whatever. It's either that or dumb ass. If you ever do something like that again, I promise you won't be able to use your fingers to open another car door."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that. "You're such a jerk."

Despite his grumble, the blond's face had erupted into a giant smile. Gaara wasn't mad at him anymore, and 'Chibi'? Gaara was such a softie. The two sat quietly on the phone lost in their own thoughts.

"Chibi. Are you alright?"

The blond's eyes softened, and the wide grin dissolved.

"I'm fine. 'Ruka said I can't come over for a while though. We won't be able to hang out."

Gaara nodded, but kept quiet.

"Hey, ketchup-head!'

Gaara nearly bit his tongue in annoyance at the hated name.

"What?"

Naruto snickered at the sound of Gaara grinding his teeth in irritation.

"He said I can't come over, but he never said I can't call you!" The child went on, bouncing on the bed. Gaara tried to protest at that, but his words were lost in the immediate rant Naruto had entered. With a defeated sigh, Gaara stood up and walked over to his bed. Stretching out, the redhead stared up at the ceiling as Naruto continued talking. At some point the blond asked about the cookies, but before Gaara could answer, he launched into a tirade about his baking adventures with Kakashi, and the silver-haired man's prowess in the kitchen.

By the time the phone was practically pried from Naruto's hand by an Iruka declaring it was way past Naruto's bedtime, Gaara had lost track of how long he'd been lying there listening to Naruto. What startled him was that he'd actually listened to everything the blond had said to him.

"Well, I got to go now. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah... sure."

Naruto grinned. The redhead was sounding subdued on the phone, relaxed almost.

"Hey, Gaara?"

"What, Chibi?"

Naruto smiled, his insides warming.

"G'night."

"Goodnight."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thanks to all those who have reviewed and contacted me to keep going with this story. Finally, the wait is over even if the story progression is slow. Thanks again to my lovely beta Mei Mei. She's been paid with a crunchy roll. _

Chapter 5 - Innocent Addiction

Gaara tapped his foot impatiently as he glared at the front door. From the other side he could make out sounds of muffled barking and voices. Shifting his weight to the other foot, the redhead frowned. He didn't even know why he was bothering. Honestly, he could have just waited until the blond decided to barge into his home later that evening. Except he'd promised the kid, under torture, that the moment he was done with the volume, he'd pass it on to the child, and he'd managed to finish it last night. Indeed, memories of that particular incident under which the promise took place still made Gaara shudder with shame.

The large, clear blue eyes that had grown impossibly larger had shimmered with unshed tears, the quivering plump bottom lip that had jutted out ever so slightly in a farce of abject sorrow, the severe slouching of the small frame as the child had slumped to the floor, his over-sized t-shirt slipping off one shoulder, down to the trembling in the boy's voice as he tried his best to hold back the crocodile tears. Gaara's breaking point came when his name was said in that childish voice that shook with sadness and threatened to suck the light and happiness that existed out of the world like a hungry black hole, leaving darkness and desolation in its wake.

Never in his life had he been made to feel so worthless, so absolutely cruel and vile a creature; so undeserving of his existence, knowing that he was the reason that the innocent child on the floor before him was being tortured to such a state. The sheer guilt that had crushed his heart was enough to relegate the protests of "He's playing you like a fucking fiddle!" to the depths of hell for even daring to proclaim such blasphemy.

In less than a minute Gaara had been made to feel like he was a vile creature, unworthy. At that moment, Gaara was ready to forfeit his life if it meant wiping the sorrow from the stricken child's world. And so, Naruto had gotten what he wanted. Here Gaara was standing in front the boy's home, ready to hand over his pristine copy of the newest volume of his favorite manga to the grimy hands of the biggest pain in his ass.

The more he thought about it, the more Gaara's mood soured and the faster his foot tapped. The worst part of his torture had come after his acquiescence. The shame in that one moment left him incapacitated for the rest of the evening. Just for a brief instance he'd seen the flash of smug, self-satisfaction contort the previously angelic features into the visage of the worst kind of conniving little imp. And he knew without a doubt, the voice he'd hope was burning in the unquenchable fiery pits of of the underworld had been telling him the truth, trying to save him from humiliation and such a fatal blow to his pride.

He, Gaara Sabaku, age 15, had been played in the worse possible way by his pint sized, 10 year old neighbor. The kid was a formidable opponent indeed. And so here Gaara was, waiting to make good on his promise. Never in his life would he have thought he would be such a sucker for tears. He hoped to God his brother didn't find out about this. Kankuro would never let him live it down.

The door being yanked open suddenly made Gaara's foot pause mid tap as the redhead was pulled from his thoughts.

Iruka didn't immediately glance at the person ringing their doorbell that early; too busy yelling something to one of the home's occupants while shoving a dog aside with his leg and setting a tie in place around his neck. Finally managing to push the canine out of the way with a foot, the brunet finally looked up to see his neighbhour staring at him impatiently.

"Oh Gaara! Sorry about that, things are a bit crazy this morning."

Gaara stared blankly at the man not particularly caring for his explanation as the brunet paused in his actions to give him an almost apologetic look. Somewhere in the background, a voice that distinctly sounded like Naruto's yelled. At the sound of the voice, the teenager's eyes shifted over the older man's shoulders in search of his supposed friend.

Iruka cleared his throat to catch the redhead's attention. It wasn't that he was trying to be rude but they were running late this morning.

Gaara turned his gaze back to the man.

"So what can I help you with?" Iruka prodded, returning to fixing his tie while waiting for a response.

Digging into his backpack, Gaara pulled out the book and shoved the manga volume into the older man's face. Iruka's eyes crossed as he stared down at the book being held out to him.

"Uhhh..."

"Naruto wanted to borrow this. I'm done with it, so I'm dropping it off."

The words were mumbled softly. The older man looked up from the book to the shorter boy. Gaara's expression had become particularly foul but despite this, there was a faint dusting of pink, barely visible. Iruka blinked, taking a moment to register what the younger male was saying.

"You know..." A snicker escaped the brunet and was met with a fierce glare as Iruka finally noticed the blush.

"I'll make sure to give it to him." The brunet said smiling brightly, effectively covering his first response which was to say Gaara could have given the book to Naruto that evening. Staring at the book in his hand, the brunet skimmed the cover.

"Tales of the Gutsy Ninja by Ji-- I didn't know the old pervert was capable of writing anything else. Well I'll be..."

By the time Iruka looked up from his rambling, Gaara was already hastily making his retreat down the walkway. He'd fulfilled his promise. There was no need to prolong his torture by standing there.

Shaking his head slightly, the older man turned back into the house. It seemed that Naruto was quickly working his way into having Gaara wrapped around his fingers. Although Iruka would have greatly preferred if Naruto found a friend around his own age, he had to acknowledge that the little boy was benefiting from his friendship with the teen. Naruto's grades were improving for one thing. There were also more subtle changes, changes that made Iruka really notice that Naruto was beginning to grow up. Well, of course it could also be related to the fact that the blond's birthday was coming up. Either way, Iruka was still grateful for their friendship.

* * *

The moment the bell rang for lunch, Naruto bolted from the classroom, the manga Gaara had dropped off that morning in one hand and his lunch in the other. He knew the perfect place to sit and read. He'd discovered it last week after looking for a place he could eat his lunch in peace. It wasn't that he'd given up on trying to make friends. It's just that at the time he hadn't been in the mood to be the butt of jokes whenever he tried to join other groups, or have some overly curious kids question him about his two fathers or his scars. He wasn't sure how people found out but ever since they did, there would always be someone wanting to know about his parents. Last time he'd almost gotten in a fight with some boy over the issue. It was only his promise to Kakashi that kept him from punching the stupid boy.

Dodging noisy students in the hallways, Naruto made his way towards the roof. Maybe it was Gaara rubbing off on him or maybe it was simply knowing that at the end of the day he'd be meeting up with his best friend but he didn't mind being alone as he once did back in the orphanage. The constant need to be around others even when he wasn't wanted was slowly waning. Nowadays, the only person he needed to be close to was Gaara. Naruto felt himself blush slightly as he thought of the older boy. They were steadily becoming closer and Naruto was enjoying every minute of having a friend. He now had a best friend!

Finding his spot on the roof, the blond sank down. From his vintage point, he got a good view of the school grounds. In the distance, he vaguely made out the top of the sister high school to his own, the school where Gaara attended. The boy stared in the distance as he wondered what Gaara was doing at the moment. As he settled on the floor and opened his lunch, his thoughts were still encompassed by his teenage friend.

Gaara scowled as a shadow fell over the novel he was reading. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the redhead unleashed his glare on the person who dared invade his personal bubble which just happened to be twice the normal size. Neji didn't back down as he sat across from Gaara, unfazed by the silent threat. The two males stared at each other, one glaring daggers while the other's eyes danced with amusement.

"Is there something you want, Hyuga?"

Neji's lips shifted in the barest of smiles at the question, his eyes reflecting something unknown to the redhead.

"Nothing in particular." The brunet said, settling himself across from Gaara and opening his lunch. Gaara  
watched, irritated as Neji made himself comfortable, completely ignoring the nasty look he was receiving.

"Is there a reason you've decided to come make yourself a nuisance?"

"Most people would be flattered by my company."

"Most people are worth less than their own piss."

"As charming as always." Neji said, lips quirking in a small smile.

"What do you want?"

"I already said nothing in particular."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm having lunch. Lee's absent today because of a tournament."

"So?"

"So what?" Neji asked, trying his best to hold back the smirk at the look of displeasure adorning the redhead's face. Gaara stared back at the challenge in Neji's eyes. The long haired boy was actually one of the few individuals at their high school that weren't afraid of him. A few students walking by saw them and immediately began whispering, their voices like mosquitoes buzzing on the edge of Gaara's senses.

Gaara turned his head to assault the murmuring girls with his stare causing them to immediately clamp their mouths shut and scamper off.

The Hyuga was quite popular, always had been since elementary school. With looks and brains like his, it was impossible not to be. Plus being the star of the school's kendo team helped out with that. He was practically the school's idol, until the rumors began when they came back from summer break. Gaara wasn't sure how they got started but if he was aware of them; Neji never seemed to be the least bit bothered by them. In Gaara's opinion, with such androgynous features as Neji possessed, he couldn't exactly say the rumors were entirely far fetched. Even if he would never say it out loud, Neji was very pretty.

Feeling somewhat satisfied with the girls' departure at his stare, Gaara reverted his attention to Neji, scowl now gone, replaced by a set look of apathy that hid his curiosity well. They'd never been on bad terms but they weren't exactly on speaking terms either. The boy would usually nod his head in acknowledgment when their paths crossed and Gaara would pretend he didn't notice. They'd exchanged a few words in the past but that was only because of Lee's shared acquaintance mostly.

Really, Gaara held no animosity for the other boy. He might even go as far to say he respected the Hyuga. The young man was smart, a particularly sharp and observant individual that also generally kept to himself. Other than Lee and the hair bun girl, Gaara didn't really see Neji hanging out with anyone else. Neji was the first person to express no fear towards him. Like Naruto, he was the only person that Gaara's looks and general "Fuck Off" aura had absolutely no effect on. Even Lee was affected in the beginning and still was to a small extent.

Although unlike Neji, who was more subtle in his acknowledgments, Naruto had blatantly demanded Gaara's friendship until he had obtained such. The redhead allowed his mind to drift over his friendship with the younger boy. It was actually kind of nice having a friend now that he thought about it, even if he was ten, irritating, conniving, and an absolute pest. Naruto made things interesting and the boy's excitement was infectious at times. Above all else, the blond wasn't afraid of him.

"I'm glad I can provide a diversion for your eyes." Neji spoke, looking up from his lunch and meeting Gaara's gaze head on.

Gaara didn't back down, staring back openly. He felt no shame in being caught staring. His shame was in realizing that once again his thoughts were focused on Naruto.

"Don't flatter yourself." The redhead muttered finally, returning to his book.

"When it comes to you, I would never."

The words were said softly but Gaara heard them. Looking up once more, Gaara stared curiously at the young man sitting across from him who seemed completely engrossed in his lunch.

"Keep that up and I might start charging you." Neji said, doing nothing to hide the amusement in his voice. With a scoff, Gaara turned his focus away from his companion and to his novel.

He supposed Neji's presence, while nothing like Naruto's, wasn't entirely intolerable.

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The boy asked as he glared down at the blond who was oblivious to his presence.

"Hey."

Still, the sitting boy continued to read.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

It wasn't until a foot smacked into a stretched out leg, did the child tear his eyes away from the manga in his hands. Squinting slightly, Naruto stared annoyed up at the boy standing next to him. He recognized him immediately, even though they weren't in the same class. Sasuke Uchiha, the most popular kid in school. The first time Naruto had seen him, he'd actually tried to talk to him after seeing him sitting by himself. That however, had resulted in Naruto's humiliation as the other boy had insulted him before walking off going as far as to make fun of his scars.

From then on, Naruto had developed a strong dislike for Sasuke. The brunet didn't even come close to being as cool as Gaara so Naruto simply couldn't understand why the boy was so popular. The girls were always gushing about how cute Sasuke was and how cool Sasuke was, or how pretty Sasuke's black, silky hair was. Obviously, those girls hadn't met Gaara or they wouldn't be so impressed.

"What." The blond snapped, irritated that he'd been interrupted and by none other than the asshole Uchiha himself. And he'd just been getting to the good part too where Haruko had finally managed to summon the frog boss.

"You're in my spot."

"What?" Naruto asked confused.

"I said you're in my spot, idiot!"

Naruto blinked, the insult taking a moment to register. The moment it did though, the blond felt his blood boil. There was a reason he'd come all the way to the roof, to get some piece and quiet so he wouldn't have to deal with the teasing or the insults or being the outcast. All he wanted to do was finish the manga so that afternoon he could talk to Gaara about it when he went over there. He'd settled in this particular spot because it was hidden from anyone who happened to come up here.

The main reason Naruto had chosen that particular spot was because it was concealed by a large metallic square, blocking whoever was sitting behind it from the view of anyone coming to the roof. It was secluded and gave a good view of the area around the school.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Get lost bastard! I was here first! And the last time I checked there was no sign that said "Property of Sasuke Bastard and Overall Asshole." Naruto snapped, noting how Sasuke's pale face turned red at the retort before returning to his manga and rudely ignoring the other boy.

Sasuke's face contorted in anger as he stared down at the whiskered boy who had the guts to challenge him and then the audacity to blatantly dismiss his presence. He knew who Naruto was. Everyone did really since the boy upon arriving had quickly made a name for himself as being irritating. He simply tried too hard. Sasuke was not about to let someone like Naruto disrespect him.

"Now listen here you--crap!"

Naruto suddenly found himself being shoved to the side by a brunet scrambling to duck down next to him. A sound of protest from the blond was instantly covered by a hand that clamped over his mouth as Sasuke continued to squeeze himself into the space next to the blond.

"Are you sure he came up here? Only losers come to the rooftop." A girlish voice said.

The blond glared hard and tried to yell as he yanked at the hand covering his mouth.

"Shh be quiet or they'll find us!" Sasuke whispered desperately into Naruto's ear. He was practically sitting in the other boy's lap.

"I saw him running up the stairs...."

"No one's up here billboard brow."

"S-Shut up Ino-pig! It's not like you've helped find him."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the sound of bickering while trying to ignore the heated look of ire being shot at him by an angry blond. The other boy had thankfully stopped struggling and was only glaring silently. Not even Naruto was ready to have his spot discovered.

As far as Naruto was concerned, he was royally pissed and there was going to be some serious ass-kicking coming the Uchiha's way once the two noisy girls left. Not to mention Gaara's manga was being squashed between them causing the cover to be bent. Oh yes, the Uchiha was going to pay.

Sasuke listened closely as the girls moved around the roof. For a moment he froze in almost panic as they walked right by before turning around and heading back to the entrance. At the sound of the door closing, the dark-haired boy let out a sigh of relief. It was at that moment pain shot through his palm causing Sasuke to yell and jerk back. Yanking his hand away, Sasuke scrambled away from the irate blond.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Naruto shouted, leaping to his feet.

"You bit me!"

"Look what you did! Gaara's going to kill me! He's never going to lend me another volume!" Naruto shouted as he tried to smooth out the bent cover while alternately shoving the manga out for Sasuke to see his handiwork.

"I can't believe you bit me!"

"He's going to be so mad!"

Sasuke watched, his anger continuing to rise as Naruto was once again ignoring him in favor of the book the blond was holding.

"Who cares? It's just a stupid book. You bit me! I've probably caught some disease now. God alone knows what you have."

"Crap crap crap. Gaara's going to be so pissed..."

"Would you shut up already about this stupid Gaara?! Nobody cares! My hand's bleeding you idiot! What the hell is wrong with you?" Sasuke yelled. Naruto paused in his actions to turn blazing blue eyes on the other boy.

"What did you just say?"

"Deaf and stupid!"

"Take that back!"

"I call them like I see them."

"Take back what you said about Gaara! He isn't stupid! Take it back!"

Sasuke didn't get a chance to retort as he was suddenly tackled by an angry Naruto. Sasuke hit the ground hard under the weight of the other boy. While Naruto had the advantage of surprise, Sasuke was heavier and stronger. Still, the furious blond was not about to let anyone get away with insulting his Gaara. Sasuke found himself struggling against the other boy as they rolled around each trying to get the upper hand while inflicting as much damage as possible. The tousle between the two boys was nothing more than flaying arms and legs and would have been almost comical to any onlooker.

By the time the bell rang signifying the end of lunch, both boys were panting, filthy, and bruised.

"This isn't over." Sasuke said as he watched Naruto quickly gather his things.

"Any time you're ready bastard." Naruto shot back before flipping off the other boy and stalking past him, his empty lunch box in one hand and his manga carefully cradled in the other. Sasuke rubbed at his sore chin as he stalked after Naruto.

Naruto had landed a particular hard punch there. Part of him still couldn't believe the other boy actually jumped him. He'd managed to get in a fight. Him, Sasuke Uchiha had been in a real fight and over what? Some stupid guy he didn't even know. Pathetic.

"Idiot." The brunet grumbled before heading to his own class. Naruto was such a pain.

* * *

Even though he was pretending not to, Gaara was in fact listening to Naruto vent his frustrations over some kid in his class. From the moment he'd come over, the blond had immediately launched into a tirade over the shortcomings of one Sasuke Uchiha.

Kankuro snickered as he watched his brother go by, the smaller boy hot on the redhead's heels as he spoke a mile a minute. Gaara didn't miss the expression on Kankuro's face and made it a point to present his brother with a rude gesture as he made his way back to his room. This in turn earned him a mouthed "Up Yours" from his brother.

"I don't even get why he's so popular at all! You should see how all the girls gush over him! It's so gross!" Naruto ranted as Gaara settled himself on his bed and proceeded to watch the ten year old pace. Naruto had managed to work himself into quite a tizzy which Gaara was hoping would fizzle out soon. It was tiring watching the energetic child.

"What's so great about him? They practically stalk him everywhere! Following him around like puppies begging for scraps of attention."

"Sounds like someone I know." Gaara mumbled before noisily opening the bag of chips he'd brought up. Naruto shot the redhead a glare before continuing with his recount of the events that took place while pacing before Gaara.

"He doesn't deserve the attention. He's such a bastard!" Naruto said loudly as he finally wore himself out and sat on the edge of Gaara's bed. After all he'd been trailing behind the teenager all afternoon recapping his story. The redhead's face contorted in a scowl as he observed the boy make himself comfortable but otherwise he made no move to kick Naruto off.

He'd long given up on trying to keep Naruto from doing exactly what the blond wanted.

"And then he has the guts to say that you're stupid!" The ten year old continued as he reached for the bag in Gaara's hand. "There was no way I was going to let him go after that one. The jerk!"

Gaara immediately moved the bag out of reach and smacked Naruto's hand away.

"You shouldn't fight over stuff like that." God, he couldn't believe he just said that. Him lecturing someone on fighting? How many times had he been suspended for doing just that?

"Are you kidding? I couldn't let him get away with insulting you!" Naruto protested while reaching for the bag again.

"Why does that even matter?" Gaara asked, genuinely curious. The concept of someone sticking up for him was so foreign that he was having a hard time grasping it, even it was a pathetic spat between brats.

"Stop being so greedy."

"It's my chips."

"Gimme some!" Naruto said, trying to reach over Gaara's lap for the bag, Gaara's question forgotten.

"No, and stop climbing all over me! What the hell do you think this is?"

"Come on. You have a whole bag."

"Get off!" Gaara snapped, less concerned about the chips and more so with getting some personal space between them.

"Don't be so stingy." Naruto pouted, struggling against the arm holding him at bay.

"Would you stop!"

"Ketchup-head!" Naruto whined, making sure to strengthen his pout and make his voice quiver as he pushed against Gaara. This close it was so easy to feel how warm and firm the older boy was. For Naruto, it became less about obtaining the bag of chips and more so enjoying being so close to Gaara.

"God you're annoying." Gaara grumbled as he leaned further to the side in an effort to move the bag away from grabby fingers. Naruto's stomach was like a black hole. Once the blond got his hands on the bag there would be none left for him.

The redhead glared down at the other boy. One of Naruto's small hands was clenching his shirt, tugging the fabric. Gaara could feel the boy's knuckles jabbing him in the stomach. Blue eyes were focused intently on the bag.

Naruto was small for his age, his face round with youth, body still soft pressed against Gaara's side. There was a scratch on his cheek, dissecting one of his scars, apparently from his scuffle with Sasuke and his hair was as wild as ever. When blue eyes looked away from the bag to meet his own, wide and pleading, Gaara knew there was no point fighting.

With a sigh, the teenager relented bringing the bag within Naruto's reach. Snatching the bag, Naruto settled down once more, adjusting himself so he was facing Gaara, a wide smirk adorning his face. Groaning, Gaara flopped onto his back. Naruto was steadily wrapping him around his little fingers.

Naruto remained silent, munching quietly as we watched Gaara stretch out on the bed. The redhead's shirt slid up slightly revealing a small expanse of pale skin. The small blond was having a hard time pulling his gaze away from the one spot. It was always so difficult for him to look away when Gaara was concerned. He couldn't help but be drawn like a moth to a flame. His young mind was yet to fully understand the implications of his fascination. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing that made him happier than being with Gaara.

"What's wrong with you now?" Gaara asked agitated. Naruto was staring at him again in that way which always made him feel uncomfortable. He wasn't sure why it bothered him but it did.

"Nothing's wrong!" Naruto said quickly, returning to the chips he'd managed to obtain. Gaara observed the blushing child for a while.

"Whatever."

He wasn't in the mood to think about it. It was the end of the week, he was tired and feeling lazy. The last thing he wanted to do right now was puzzle out the behavior of his annoying diminutive neighbor.

"Hey, Ketchup-head?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"No."

He could practically feel the pout assaulting him.

"Fine....." Gaara grumbled, moving his arms to place his hands under his head.

"Do you think....do you think my scars make me look ugly?"

The question came out so soft and in such a timid voice that Gaara had to look at the child sitting next to him to make sure he'd even heard it. Naruto was fidgeting with the bag he was holding, staring down at the contents, his face bright red.

Rolling on to his side to face the blond, Gaara scrutinized Naruto's face. He'd always wondered where the scars came from. He'd asked once but Naruto himself seemed to have no idea.

He'd always had them as far back as he could remember. Gaara really didn't see anything wrong with the scars. He'd simply accepted them as something that was part of Naruto, like his bright hair and similarly bright eyes. He couldn't even imagine the blond without them. They fit the younger boy's mischievous personality perfectly. When Naruto grinned they would stretch across his face giving him an almost vulpine appearance.

Naruto's head was still bent and his face was still red. Sitting up, Gaara watched the smaller boy. He would never tell him, but to Gaara, Naruto was actually cute. His smile was always so brilliant and his eyes always so vibrant.

"Your scars don't make you look ugly." Gaara said softly. "Anyone who says they do is lying to you. You're not ugly at all."

Naruto's head snapped up. The look was back in Naruto's eyes. The look that suddenly made Gaara feel uncomfortable being stared at like that. Breaking eye contact, Gaara got off the bed and headed over to his backpack in search of the book he'd been reading earlier that day. The mushiness was starting to make his skin crawl.

Small arms wrapping around his waist caused the redhead to nearly jump from his skin.

"What are you doing?" Gaara snarled. The hug was way too intimate. He could feel Naruto's face pressing against his back as the blond's arms tightened around his waist.

Naruto breathed in deeply. Despite his cold demeanor, the older boy was always so warm. He was shaking slightly from anxiety, expecting Gaara to push him away any moment. It had been so difficult to sit there and not launch himself at the redhead at the words Gaara had uttered. His insides were feeling funny and he was feeling slightly lightheaded. His heart was pounding in his chest and before he knew it he was following Gaara and wrapping his arms around the older boy. Hearing Gaara tell him he wasn't ugly had brought such relief to him. He wasn't quite sure why but he suddenly felt hopeful. If Gaara said it then it must be true. The redhead never did anything simply to make him feel better. Gaara was always brutally honest with him. Suddenly, what he'd been told all his life, in the orphanage, in school, it didn't matter anymore because Gaara didn't think so.

"Chibi." The teenager mumbled uncertainly.

Taking a deep breath, Gaara willed himself to tolerate the child's embrace. Naruto held on for a few more minutes before finally and reluctantly letting go. When he finally did, the teenager turned around to see a grinning Naruto staring up at him. The smile was so wide and genuine that before he realized it, Gaara's hand was reaching forward to gently ruffle Naruto's hair.

The blond's smile broadened even further in pleasure as he tried to contain his excitement. It was one of the few times that Gaara was making physical contact between them of his own volition that didn't involve the redhead trying to shove Naruto away.

"I'm in the mood for a walk." Gaara said softly as he withdrew his hand from Naruto's hair and headed to the door. The younger boy's hair was so soft. He wasn't sure why he'd done it but had somehow seemed right, reaching out to the child like that.

"I'm coming too." Naruto called, immediately following Gaara's footsteps.

"Obviously." Gaara stated without looking back.

Naruto grinned as he matched his pace with Gaara. His best friend.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta who recently had a time of her life at a Muse concert. This time she was paid with a bowlful of cherries. A special thanks to the wonderful reviews I've been receiving for this story. Thank you all for having such endless patience for my incredibly slow updates.

**Chapter 6**

Gaara stared out the window, his head propped by his hand. It was raining today, putting him in a pleasant mood. He liked the rain, liked when the sky was covered by heavy, dark clouds blocking out the sunlight, and casting the world in a bleak shadow. He oddly enjoyed the depressing atmosphere often created by rain showers. He'd tried explaining this to Naruto once when the blond had been complaining about the weather. He wasn't sure if the child had understood what he was trying to explain but ever since that day, Naruto had seemed suddenly fascinated by rain. Once when it'd started raining the blond had walked over to Gaara's window and stood staring at the rain. When he'd asked why, the boy had simply shrugged and said the drops were interesting to look at.

The weather was changing, it was beginning to get colder and the days shorter. He'd worn the school's sweater vest over his shirt today to ward off the chill made even worse by the cold drops falling nonstop since early that morning. Naruto had seen him when he'd walked past on his way to the bus stop, and for some unknown reason he'd started blushing.

Sometimes trying to understand Naruto simply wasn't worth the effort. Now that his thoughts were on the little hellion, he still needed to think of a birthday gift for him. He was leaning towards getting him a book. Gaara was convinced the Chibi needed to start reading more. His written skills were in dire need of some serious intervention and simply reading manga was not going to help with that. The redhead tapped his fingers on his desk idly as he tried to think of what might be a good read for the blond. He wanted something that would hold the boy's attention long enough for him to finish but at the same time wasn't too complex for the soon to be eleven year old either.

"Enjoying the weather, I see."

Pulled out of his thoughts, Gaara slowly lifted his head to look at the person whose voice interrupted him. Meeting a pair of pale, calm eyes, Gaara simply stared blandly.

"..."

"Good morning to you too."

"Hyuga..." The redhead mumbled, his voice sounding slightly annoyed as he studied his classmate. The other male was leaning casually against the desk across from Gaara, his arms folded, long legs stretched forward.

"You know, Neji will do just as well."

"Is there a reason you're speaking to me?" Gaara asked, making sure his boredom with the conversation was reflected in his voice.

"Obviously."

Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That would be too much of a reaction. Instead, he stared at the other teenager, scowling slightly. Neji simply met the gaze head on clearly unfazed— maybe a little amused—but not the least bit intimidated. Like him, Neji was often difficult to read, at least for those who didn't believe for a second that the usual Neji was actually the real Neji. The brunet was good at putting up a polite, pleasant front. It was often enough to disarm others when it was coupled with the tall boy's looks. People were wired to think positively of individuals with that level of beauty. However, on a few occasions Gaara had seen that mask slip when the ones whispering about the brunet behind his back weren't looking.

Gaara let his eyes run over the other male, his uniform was pristine as always, dark brown hair neatly held back in place, a few strands too short to be held by the hair tie spilled over his shoulders. He was also wearing the school's sweater vest over his shirt.

"What do you want this time?" The redhead asked turning in his seat to properly face the other male. He supposed he could listen to what the other male wanted. It was rare for Neji to actually seek him out.

"We're going to the movies this weekend."

At this Gaara cocked a nonexistent brow in curiosity.

"We?"

"Myself, Lee, and TenTen—"

"And this concerns me in some way because..."

"Because I'm inviting you along to go with us." Neji finished, reaching up to brush some strands of hair back over his shoulder. Gaara thought the gesture was oddly effeminate for someone who seemed to exude masculinity like the Hyuga.

"And what makes you think I'm going to agree to this despite the numerous occasions Lee has asked and I have refused?" The redhead inquired, partly exasperated but admittedly partly interested in the brunet's response. Typically, it would be Lee doing the inviting while unintentionally giving Gaara a headache as a result of the teenager's exuberance. Gaara always refused simply because by the end of the invitation he was too pissed off to agree to anything Lee asked him to do.

"Well for one thing I'm the one asking."

Gaara's brows furrowed slightly at this.

"And that would make a difference...why?"

"No idea but it doesn't hurt to ask now does it." Neji responded.

Gaara stared hard. There was no smirk, no smugness, no haughtiness whatsoever. Neji's face was calm and expectant. The redhead simply huffed and turned to stare out the window.

"We're meeting around three in front of the fountain in Kage Square. Here's my cell number." The brunet continued, moving forward to slide a piece of paper on to Gaara's desk, allowing his fingers to brush briefly against Gaara's elbow. At the slight touch, the redhead instantly turned to glare at the considerably closer male.

"Why the hell would I need your number?"

Neji shrugged.

"To let me know if you're coming of course..."

Gaara eyed the brunet suspiciously.

"You can just send me a message. Feel free to use it whenever you want though. I'll still respond." The Hyuga added, this time there was a tiny smirk as he looked down at Gaara. Neji didn't wait for Gaara to say anything as he turned and headed to his own desk across the room. The teacher had entered after all. The redhead stared after his classmate. Recently, the brunet had been acting oddly towards him, more...friendly. What the hell was that about?

Gaara picked up the piece of paper and read the numbers. He wasn't sure why he did it but he stuffed the slip into his pocket. Feeling eyes on him, he glanced around the room only to meet a pair of pale ones observing him. Neji flashed him a tiny smile before looking forward and paying attention to the chubby teacher. The redhead stared at his classmate for a few moments more before turning to look out the window once more. He still needed to think of a proper birthday present for Naruto.

* * *

"KETCHUP-HEAD!"

The redhead cringed as his hated nickname was screamed from somewhere in the house. Moments later his bedroom door was yanked open and a ball of energy came hurtling in.

"Hi Gaara! What ya—"

Naruto instantly halted in his enthusiastic entrance the moment his eyes landed on a half-naked Gaara. The teenager was standing in the middle of his room, wearing nothing but dark blue jeans that he was in the process of zipping up. The blond's wide eyes slid across Gaara's frame, taking in the pale skin, and the teenager's slightly ridged torso. He could make out the faint outline of a six pack and for a split second, Naruto wondered if it would ever become like the hard protrusions that his 'Kashi and 'Ruka possessed.

When Naruto's eyes landed on the visible part of Gaara's underwear, his face heated up but he continued to stare for a moment before he quickly lifted his eyes meeting those of a furious Gaara.

Gaara twitched as he watched the little boy's eyes scrutinize him, lingering on his crotch before lifting to make eye contact. His own cheeks tinged pink in response as Naruto's face turned red from embarrassment.

"Naruto..." The redhead growled. The noise was punctuated by the harsh sound of the teenager's zipper closing. Naruto's eyes widened as his inital exuberance vanished, replaced by a healthy dose of trepidation. He knew that sound only too well. When Gaara said his name like that, it usually meant he was about to enter a world of pain if he didn't start running soon.

"What did I tell you about barging into my room like that?" The teenager asked, his voice dangerously low as he advanced on the blond boy. Naruto gulped but couldn't bring himself to move as a shirtless Gaara steadily approached.

"Umm...I—s-should knock before entering if your door is closed?" The blond managed to squeak out as his eyes involuntarily dropped to once more scan Gaara's torso.

"And what the hell did you just do?" Gaara asked.

Naruto swallowed as he watched the defined but wiry muscles in the blond's arms contract as Gaara made a fist.

"Naruto!" Gaara snapped.

The blond jumped as his eyes snapped back to the fiery pits that were glaring at him.

"You should start running now." The teenager's voice was barely above a whisper.

Naruto bolted out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, the redhead was doing his best to ignore the sniffling child sitting on his bed. He was also failing horribly. It was virtually impossible to disregard the depressed mass of ten-year old sitting on his bed crossed legged, one arm wrapped tightly around one of his pillows while the other hand rubbed the top of his head where Gaara's fist had made contact. Gaara peeked out of the corner of his eyes at the rather dejected looking blond who was busy watching him with accusing blue eyes. The redhead glared back.

"Stop being such a wuss. I didn't hit you that hard."

"You shouldn't have hit me at all!"

"And you shouldn't have barged into my room like that! Don't you understand the concept of privacy?"

Naruto pouted but didn't say anything.

"You probably don't even know how to spell the word."

"I do!" The blond lied boldfaced.

"Whatever." Gaara mumbled, returning to his closet to rummage for a shirt.

"You jerk." Naruto mumbled from his position on Gaara's bed while continuing to watch the redhead retrieve a long-sleeved grey shirt. The teenager's back was to him and Naruto couldn't help but stare fascinated at the expanse of skin. It looked so pale and smooth and the blond was overcome by a sudden urge to run his hands over his friend's skin.

Gaara disregarded the insult and returned to his pretense of ignoring the blond. The silence lasted for all of three minutes.

"Why are you getting all dressed up? You going somewhere?" Naruto finally asked curiously.

"What do you think?"

"Where are you going? Can I come along?"

"I'm going to see a movie. And absolutely not! No way in hell I'm taking you anywhere with me." Gaara snapped before pulling on his shirt.

"Why not?" The blond asked softly, the question coming out as a pitiful whine. Gaara stared at the boy. Naruto was looking at him with disappointment written all over his face. The sight made Gaara hesitate.

"Because...I'm going with some other kids from my school. I doubt your parents will let you hang out with a bunch of teenagers."

"Ohh..." Naruto said softly, thinking about what this meant for his afternoon with Gaara. "When will you be back then?"

Instead of staying home and spending time with him, Gaara had decided he was going to go see a movie. Walking over to the blond, the redhead reached out and gently rubbed his hand over the spot he'd hit Naruto. The child's hair was soft under his hand. Naruto looked up at him, his blue eyes large and shining. In that one moment, Gaara actually thought the little boy looked cute.

"Not sure, Chibi."

"So does that mean we can't play today?"

"Yes it does."

"But that's not fair! Why didn't you tell me you were going out yesterday?"

"I hadn't decided when I saw you yesterday." Gaara responded, retracting his hand and walking off to search for some socks.

"Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"What do you mean why not?"

"Why hadn't you decided?"

"Just because. You're starting to get irritating again."

"Well I want to know! You should have told me yesterday."

"What are you, my wife? Stop nagging."

Naruto's face contorted into a full-blown pout.

Rolling his eyes, Gaara continued looking for socks in the mess of his drawer. He'd sent Neji a text message late last night informing the other teenager that he'd be joining them. He wasn't even sure why he'd decided to go along with the group but eventually he'd concluded that simply wanting to see the movie was reason enough. The redhead had also thought it was in his best interest to ignore the possibility that he was only going because Neji had asked, and the brunet's recent behavior had him slightly curious. The brunet had responded to his message saying he was looking forward to being able to spend time together. Gaara still wasn't sure what to make of that message. It was almost flirtatious if Gaara dared consider it.

Naruto stared forlornly as Gaara seemingly ignored him. His nose was buried in Gaara's pillow. So far the owner hadn't commented about the way the blond was clutching the pillow and for that Naruto was glad. It was the weekend and he had been hoping to spend some quality time with his friend. Alas, it was not to happen. At least not today. The boy sulked as he continued to breath in Gaara's scent from the pillow. He loved how the teenager smelled and wished Gaara would let him get closer more often so he could breathe in the teenager.

Finally, pulling a pair of socks from the drawer, Gaara walked over to his bed and sank down next to the blond. Shifting slightly, he eyed the little boy next to him.

"...Can you look any less pathetic?"

"S-shut up!" Naruto snapped, allowing himself to fall over dramatically, a perfect portrait of rejection. "You're such a little drama queen. You better not get drool on my pillow." Gaara grumbled.

Honestly, Naruto was beginning to milk the situation for all it was worth. It was working but Gaara would be damned if he let the kid know he was actually feeling bad about disappointing him.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the redhead. The teenager simply stared back blankly at this.

"Why won't you let me come with you?" Naruto whined as he watched Gaara pull on his socks. Naruto was finding it difficult to get the image of a shirtless Gaara out of his head. He'd seen his parents shirtless countless times before but seeing Gaara like that made his stomach feel funny. The blond wondered what it would be like to hug the teenager when the redhead wasn't wearing a shirt.

Gaara mentally groaned as he stood up and walked over to where Naruto was lying on his side watching him.

"Stop asking the same question more than once. It's aggravating. And stop sniffing my pillow like a dog. That's just plain creepy. Don't think I didn't notice what you were doing." Gaara said, trying but failing miserably to glare down at the boy. The boy only hugged the pillow tighter and worsened his pout. Gaara sighed. At least this time it was the pillow and not him. The brat was annoying—cute—but just so damn annoying.

"Like you're one to talk. You don't even have eyebrows!" Naruto shouted, his face flushing at being discovered.

Scratch that. There was nothing cute about the brat.

Naruto yelped when the pillow was suddenly snatched from him and came slamming down over his head.

"What the hell was that for?" The small boy yelled, shoving the pillow aside and glaring heatedly at the teenager. Folding his arms, Gaara stared down coolly at the indignant child.

"That's for being a pest and an all over pain. Now get your ass off my bed. I'm ready to leave and no way in hell I'm leaving you alone in my room."

"Jerk!"

Gaara snorted before turning and heading for the door. Behind him, Naruto quickly scampered off the bed to follow.

"What's so great about these people anyway that you're going to the movies with them? We could watch a movie here if you really wanted to see one."

Gaara glanced down at the blond next to him but said nothing. What was he supposed to say when the child was looking so miserable?

"You gonna answer my question or what?" Naruto demanded, glaring up at the older boy.

"Or what." Gaara said, smirking at Naruto's squawk of protest.

The two continued down the stairs in silence, Gaara trying to keep from looking at the sulking blond next to him. Naruto didn't like that Gaara was ditching him to spend time with other people. This was exactly what 'Ruka had warned him about. The redhead was so much older than he was and although he allowed Naruto to be with him, his father had said the blond shouldn't expect Gaara to want him around all the time.

Gaara was supposed to be his friend though. The redhead was supposed to spend time with him. Up to this point, Gaara had never really done anything like this. Why was it that all of a sudden, he was going of with kids from his school? Naruto bit his lip as he followed the redhead. He really didn't want to be left behind. Without Gaara, he would be back to having no friends.

"Are they your friends?" Naruto asked suddenly, staring up at Gaara expectantly.

"Not really. They're more like acquaintances." The teenager said shrugging.

"Oh..." That was the only word said by the little boy as he followed Gaara to the front door. Gaara stared down at the blond head next to him but said nothing. Naruto kept his eyes to the floor, shoulders slouched, as he followed his friend.

"What's got your puppy's tail between his legs? He looks like he's about to cry or something. Did you kick him? You know you can go to jail for animal cruelty. There are laws against that sort of thing." Kankurou called from where he was sitting on the sofa as his brother and neighbour entered the living room.

Gaara ignored his brother, focusing on the boy walking close to him as he made his way to the front door. Was Naruto really that upset over the whole thing? Honestly, what was the big deal? It was just one evening of not being in each other's presence — one among many...Unless, it was bothering the blond that he was going out with some other kids his age?

"Shut up, asshole!" Naruto yelled as he suddenly whipped around to face Kankuro. The brothers stared down at the boy, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"What did you call me? You little—"

"Leave him alone, Kankuro!"

"What's this? You're defending him now?" The older male asked, miffed at being insulted by a kid.

Gaara shrugged.

"He was simply stating a fact." Gaara said before reaching out and gently placing his hand on Naruto's head, guiding the blond over to his shoes and further away from Kankuro.

"Chibi..."

"Chibi? You even named it? Oh that's bloody hilarious!" Kankuro guffawed as he peered at them over the back of the sofa.

"So is you skipping cram school. I'm sure Temari will just be tickled by that little tidbit." Gaara snapped, irritated at his brother. The older male was only making the situation worse.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Gaara's response was to simply stare pointedly before taking Naruto's hand and pulling the boy after him out the door.

"Never mind him."

Naruto didn't say anything as he stared at their linked hands. Gaara had never held his hand before. The teenager's hand was bigger than his and his slender digits were wrapped securely around Naruto's tiny fingers. The blond smiled softly as he swung their hands childishly all the way to his house.

"Hey, Ketchup-head!"

"What?"

"Bring me back something."

"...Why?"

"Why not? 'Kashi always bring me something when he's been gone on a trip."

"He's your father."

"So? Just bring me something. You can gimme the next time we see each other!"

Gaara stared at the blue eyes looking at him excitedly. The teenager didn't say anything as he stared down at the small boy. Like always, as he continued to stare into those impossibly blue eyes, he couldn't say no.

"What do you want?"

"I dunno. Think of something." The blond answered bringing up his other hand to wrap around Gaara's. The teenager stared blankly at his hand held tightly between those of his little friend.

"...Alright."

Naruto's happy smile lit up his entire face. Releasing his friend's hand, Naruto wrapped his arms around Gaara's waist, burying his face in Gaara's shirt. The teenager let the boy hug him for a while before gently prying of the arms. He'd grown used to Naruto's sudden bouts of affection, mainly because he'd had no choice in the matter. The ten-year old was relentless.

"Don't forget, Ketchup-head!" Naruto shouted as he finally released the teenager.

"Whatever." Gaara mumbled as he ruffled Naruto's hair. He would never tell the child but he'd come to enjoy the affections of the ten-year old. Naruto was the first one to hug him in a very long time. Gaara usually avoided any kind of purposeful physical contact. On rare occasions like his birthday, he would be wrestled to the ground by his brother and sister and given hugs and headlocks whether he wanted them or not.

With Naruto though, he'd finally given up pushing the child away. Now he just stayed still until the blond hugged him, leaned against him, poked him, or found some other way to touch him until Naruto was satisfied.

"Bye, Ketchup-head!" Naruto yelled before turning and running to his house.

* * *

"So what did you think of the movie?" Neji asked, staring at the slightly shorter redhead walking next to him. Gaara shrugged noncommittally. A chuckle made Gaara turn to look at his companion. Neji's hair was loose and being gently whipped about him by the wind. His jacket was open, revealing the pale blue t-shirt underneath. Ahead of them, Lee was engaging TenTen in a rather animated discussion over the movie they'd just seen.

"The main actor's inexperience was showing." Gaara said softly. Neji had been by his side since they'd met up earlier. The theater had been crowded by the time they'd arrived forcing them to split up. They'd sat together, all the way in the back while TenTen and Lee sat further in the front.

The entire movie it had felt as though Neji had been closer to him than necessary. Their legs kept bumping each other and their arms kept touching. Even Neji's fingers had somehow managed to brush against the back of his hand when Gaara rested it on the armrest.

The brunet had whispered brief words in his ear during a few scenes and some of his hair had spilled over his shoulder, tickling Gaara's cheek, the scent of the brunet's shampoo reaching Gaara's nose. During those instances, Neji's breath had ghosted over Gaara's ear, ruffling the red strands nearby. On one occasion, Gaara was sure he'd even felt the brunet's lip make contact with his skin and it had made the redhead suddenly uneasy.

Gaara had said not a word nor did he try moving away. His own behavior more so than Neji's actions unnerved him. Not once did he try to put more space between them.

Even after leaving the movie theater, the dichotomy had continued, Neji preferring to walk and talk with him instead of joining in on the conversations between their other two companions. It wasn't long before they'd found themselves lagging behind the two more energetic individuals of their group.

The entire evening Neji was unfazed by Gaara's distinct lack of conversational skills, and carried the conversations easily. As a result, the redhead was finding himself responding more and more to Neji. Still, the brunet's close proximity was something that Gaara was always aware of.

"The effects were good I suppose and the story was solid."

"Hmm...I would have to agree with that." Neji responded meeting Gaara's gaze. "So are you glad you came?"

Neji was walking rather close to him, their shoulders brushing lightly ever so often. Gaara looked away, instead focusing on the two who'd stopped and was waiting for them to catch up.

The redhead mulled over the question briefly. Admittedly, it was fun. He'd never really hung out with people his age before and despite his satisfaction with being a loner, this was actually nice. Neji was actually nice and he didn't mind being so close to the other male. He could smell his cologne or whatever it was Neji was wearing, and the redhead was finding it rather appealing.

"Maybe. I'm not disappointed if that's what you're asking." Gaara answered, glancing at Neji once more.

"Are your expectations of me really that low?" The taller male asked, eyes reflecting his amusement at Gaara's answer.

Gaara didn't say anything, a tiny smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I guess I'll have to try harder to change that then." The words were said in a way that made the redhead turn to properly stare at the brunet walking next to him. Neji simply stared back, an obvious smirk adorning his face. The taller male really was handsome. It was the kind of handsome that Gaara was certain someone from either sex would find irresistible— the kind of handsome one only saw on models.

"Geez, you guys are so slow!" TenTen complained, tapping her foot when the two males finally caught up. Lee was uncharacteristically quiet by her side as his gaze shifted from Gaara to Neji and back again.

"Are we in a rush to get somewhere?" Neji asked casually as he looked at the irritated girl.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I need to get going. I promised my dad I'd be home early to help him out with some things." TenTen stated, smiling at Gaara for some reason the redhead couldn't fathom. The teenager simply stared back blankly before shifting his gaze to Lee who was watching him nervously.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"Nothing!" Lee responded sheepishly immediately averting his gaze to the side walk. Next to him, TenTen rolled her eyes.

"Alright. We'll see you in school on Monday then." Neji said, breaking the suddenly awkward pause in conversation. Gaara stood silently watching Lee who was fidgeting while trying to steal glances at him. The redhead frowned. Lee was being odder than usual. Next to him TenTen cleared her throat loudly.

"I-I need to get going too." Lee finally said. "I promised my dad that I...uh—"

"That you'd come back in time to go jogging with him this evening. Honestly, Lee!" TenTen finished elbowing said boy in the side.

"Sorry..." Lee mumbled after being scolded. Gaara found it incredibly strange to see Lee so docile.

"Let's just go. We'll see you guys at school. Have fun!" TenTen finished abruptly. Waving at the two males, she grabbed Lee's arm and proceeded to quickly drag him off.

Gaara simply stared after them suspiciously feeling as though he'd just missed something.

"Well then, it's just you and me now. Are you hungry?"

Deciding not to think much of the idiocy of Lee, Gaara nodded in response to Neji's question. He didn't mind spending more time with the brunet. The older male was interesting.

* * *

Sasuke stared down at the blond boy gazing off into space.

"Why are you sitting up here in the cold?" The dark-haired boy asked as he sat down close to Naruto. Said boy glanced over at the brunet before turning his head to rest his chin on his knees. His arms were wrapped tightly around his legs, which were drawn close to his body.

"What do you want?" Naruto mumbled. A strong breeze made the small boy shiver. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke shifted closer to the other.

"You're such a loser, you know that?"

Naruto glared halfheartedly at Sasuke before averting his eyes to his shoes. He simply wasn't in the mood to deal with the brunet's jabs. He'd been thinking about Gaara all day. He'd asked Gaara to bring him something as a means of ensuring the redhead didn't forget him. He didn't want to be left behind. All his life he'd been left behind.

He'd missed seeing the redhead that morning because he had to search for his shoe. He had a suspicion that Akino had hidden it as revenge for Naruto taking his sunglasses. It wasn't like he'd wanted to. Kakashi had told him to wash the glasses because it was looking kind of dirty. The brown dog could be really vengeful when he wanted to be.

Sasuke eyed the blond curiously. They were by no means friends but ever since that first fight, they'd grudgingly come to truce that had everything to do with Naruto being threatened with no ramen for a month, and Sasuke receiving a rather strongly disapproving glare from his older brother.

Of course they didn't dare get into physical scuffles but there was nothing to stop them from the verbal warfare that often took place. Sasuke was convinced Naruto was an idiot and Naruto believed with every fiber of his being that Sasuke was a jackass. Their feelings were mutual.

But now, something was up with Naruto. That much at least was obvious. Sasuke supposed a real friend would ask the blond what was going on and try to offer an attentive ear. However, they weren't friends meaning such expectations of him were nonexistent.

"I asked you a question, idiot. The least you could do is answer it. Why do you look like someone ate the last slice of your birthday cake?"

"Leave me alone, Sasuke." Naruto practically whined. "I'm not in the mood."

This time, Sasuke stared hard at the slouching boy. "Do you have any idea how lame you sound?"

Naruto's lack of a suitable response grated on Sasuke's nerves.

"Fine. Be a sulky little girl if you want to." Sasuke huffed, drawing his own legs up to his body and wrapping his arms around them, imitating the boy sitting next to him.

"If I bother you so much then why do you keep coming up here?" Naruto asked.

"This just happens to be the best place to get away from Sakura and Ino, that's all."

"Sure it is."

Sasuke scoffed, moving closer to the blond when a strong gust blew by.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"What, idiot?"

"Do you wanna come over to my house sometime?"

"Why on earth would I want to do something like that?" Sasuke demanded, turning to stare at Naruto.

"I dunno...I mean we could play and hang out and stuff..." Naruto mumbled. Earlier that day he'd heard the Inuzuka kid in his class invite his friend, Shino, over to his house. Sasuke was the closest thing to a friend he had at school, and at the time it had seem like a good idea. Despite what Sasuke said and how the blond acted, Naruto was actually beginning to kind of like the brunet.

"Isn't it bad enough I have to see your face at school?"

Naruto didn't respond, instead keeping his eyes focused forward. The two boys sat in silence for a while sharing body heat. Soon it would be too cold to sit on the roof of the school like this.

"...I'll have to ask my brother first." Sasuke said softly.

Naruto glanced at the boy next to him noting the way Sasuke's eyes seemed fixated on his shoes.

"Okay." The blond whispered, smiling softly. As the two sat in silence, Naruto wondered if Gaara had gone to school with that sweater vest he'd seen him wearing the other day. Maybe if Sasuke came over, he could have him meet the older boy. Turning to the side, Naruto stared at the boy sitting next to him. With Sasuke so close, he was feeling slightly warmer than before.

"What are you staring at?" Sasuke snapped.

"Nothing." Naruto responded, grinning.

"You're such a loser."

"And you're such a bastard."

Both boys took note that their words didn't carry the usual bite.

Gaara would always be his first and very best friend, but to Naruto, it was nice having Sasuke around.

* * *

Naruto eagerly trotted up to the front door of the Sabaku's residence. The day was windy and his bangs kept being whipped into his eyes. He was already in a good mood. He'd asked Iruka if Sasuke could come over some time and the man had been positively ecstatic, informing Naruto he'd speak with Sasuke's older brother soon.

Before he could ring the bell, the door was swung open by Gaara's older sister.

"Naruto!"

"Temari-nee-chan!" The child exclaimed, grinning and moving forward to hug the young woman.

"It's been a while." The woman said, returning the embrace.

"You been staying out of trouble?" Temari asked as she released the boy and allowed him to pull off his shoes.

"Yeah. Iruka is even letting me do dishes now!"

Temari laughed at the antics of the energetic child.

"Is that so? Alright, kiddo. I need to go shopping for dinner. I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

"Kay! I'm gonna find Gaara. Bye!" Naruto shouted with a wave before turning and racing off.

"He's in the kitchen!." Temari called, chuckling to herself as the small boy disappeared further into the house.

Gaara didn't bother looking up when Naruto entered the kitchen, instead focusing on spreading a layer of peanut butter evenly to a slice of bread. Naruto's boisterous ways were all the alert he needed to the boy's arrival.

"Hi, Ketchup-head. What ya doing?" Naruto called, moving to stand next to Gaara to better investigate what the redhead was doing.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Gaara grumbled as he added another slice of bread and cut the peanut butter sandwich he'd just made down the middle.

The blond simply smiled as he eyed Gaara's actions. With a sigh, Gaara handed one half of the sandwich to the boy. Naruto's smile broadened as he took the proffered half.

"Don't eat it yet." The teenager said as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out the bottle of chocolate milk.

"Guess what! 'Ruka said that Sasuke can come over and play with me some time!"

"I thought you hated Sasuke." Gaara said, pulling two cups from a cupboard.

"I don't hate him. I just think he's a bastard."

"I see."

Filling two cups, he handed one to his little friend before replacing the bottle in the fridge. Silently, he picked up his half of the sandwich and cup and left the kitchen, Naruto happily in tow.

Both boys sat cross legged on Gaara's bedroom floor. Naruto had already inhaled his half of the sandwich and was busy guzzling the remainder of milk.

Gaara observed the little boy. A drop of chocolate milk escaped the blond's lips and ran down his chin to land on his shirt. Setting down his empty cup, Naruto turned to the side to meet Gaara's gaze.

"So?"

"So what?"

Naruto scowled. "You'd said you'd bring me something."

"When did I ever say such a thing?"

The blond's scowl worsened.

"You promised."

"Did I now?" The teenager asked flippantly, before popping the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

"You did! Stop playing dumb. You said you'd get me something. Where is it?" Naruto whined pathetically as he reached out to tug at Gaara's arm. "Gaarrraaaaa!"

"Alright! It's over there in the corner." The redhead said quickly, pulling the little hands off him while tilting his head in the direction of a shopping bag sitting in a corner of his room. A whining Naruto always managed to give him a killer headache.

Scampering over to the shopping bag, Naruto grabbed it and brought it over to the redhead. Plopping onto the floor, the blond immediately yanked the item from the bag.

Naruto blinked at the item in his hands. It was a stuffed reddish-brown frog dressed in a blue shirt. Sticking from its mouth was a light brown pipe. Naruto squeezed the soft toy slightly. Gaara watched the boy's reaction closely, feeling a little nervous as Naruto inspected the plush toy. He'd had no idea what to get the boy and had ended up recruiting Neji's help. At the time, he'd known he didn't want it to be something as trivial as a snack. He wanted something that Naruto would be able to keep for a long time.

He'd spotted the frog while they'd been wandering through a toy shop. Neji had thought it was a bit childish for a ten-year old boy but Gaara had insisted on getting it nonetheless. Naruto liked frogs. After all, his backpack was a hideous, green monstrocity.

The hug he suddenly found himself in, startled the redhead causing him to tumble back onto the floor. Gaara growled as he attempted to peel the younger boy off him, a furious blush on his face.

"Thanks, Ketchup-head!"

"Will you get off?" Gaara snapped while tugging at the skinny arms wrapped around him. Naruto ignored the teenager's efforts, clinging with all his might in an attempt to give his best friend a full body hug.

"Nope." The blond declared, pressing himself closer to Gaara.

With an exasperated huff, Gaara gave up and allowed the little boy to hug him.

"Why do I even bother sometimes?"

"No idea." Naruto responded.

"That was rhetorical."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Gaara stared up at the celing as Naruto hugged him to his ten-year old heart's content. After a few moments, the blond slid to the floor to lay on his back like Gaara.

"I'm going to name him Gamabunta." Naruto proclaimed, holding up the plush.

"Gamabunta?"

"Yeah, doesn't he look like a yakuza boss?"

Gaara stared at the upheld plush for a moment.

"I suppose."

"Gamabunta, the frog boss! I think he likes it."

"Not like he has a choice in the matter." The redhead said, rolling onto his side to observe the giddily happy child lying next to him.

"You say something?"

"Never mind."

Gaara watched as Naruto played with the plush toy, a silly grin on the blond's slightly chubby face. For some strange reason he was suddenly acutely aware of how small Naruto was lying so close next to him. Naruto's blue eyes sparkled brightly with happiness, his golden hair fanned out around his head. The teenager was finding it hard to take his eyes of the boy.

"You're such a brat." Gaara said suddenly.

"But you like me that way." Naruto responded, grinning cheekily.

Gaara scoffed but didn't deny it. Lying on his back once more, the redhead placed his hands under his head. It was nice just laying there doing nothing. The feel of something on his stomach caught his attention. Naruto had moved and was now using Gaara's belly as a pillow while he explained to Gamabunta, the frog's past.

"An annoying brat." The redhead mumbled as he closed his eyes and listened to Naruto making up the adventures of Gamabunta.

When Temari came some time later to inform her little neighbor that his parents were calling him for dinner, she couldn't suppress a smile at the sight of Naruto clinging to her anti-social brother as the two dozed on the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I apologize for the incredibly long wait but life got in the way. Thanks to all of you that contacted me about this. You were the ones that really got me to sit down and finish this chapter. Again, thanks to my darling and beta, Mei Mei.

**Chapter 7**

Gaara scowled as he stared at the message displayed on his phone.

Rolling his eyes, the redhead quickly typed out a reply on his phone in response to his sister's. She'd been constantly sending him pictures of things, asking his opinion on their "appropriateness" as birthday presents for their little neighbhour. Apparently, he was an expert in everything "Naruto." The latest picture had been that of an orange t-shirt with a kamaboko(1) on the front. His sister had no imagination and he'd just sent her a message telling her just that.

Quite frankly, it was damn annoying the way Naruto had his sister wrapped around his little finger. The brat might have his sister fooled but not him! The kid was a conniving little devil and he'd melted Temari's heart with his large, blue eyes, cute, whiskered face and disarming grin. So much so that the young woman went around declaring the boy "the little brother she'd always wanted." Of course this was usually accompanied by nasty looks directed at her real siblings. Like either of her real brothers gave a shit. Gaara usually just flipped her off.

Looking up from his phone, Gaara glanced around the classroom. It was lunch time and a few people were milling about the room chatting. Sitting at his desk, Neji was busy talking with two girls from another class. Gaara watched the other male curiously. The brunet was smiling politely at the clearly infatuated girls who were giggling at his every word. Even from this distance, the sound of their voices grated on the redhead's nerves and he wondered how the Hyuga put up with them.

Gaara couldn't understand why they even bothered—Neji was yet to show any real interest in any of them beyond being achingly polite. While he was never particularly rude, the brunet treated everyone with the same cool disregard. There were only three people that Gaara had ever seen Neji show any real interest in, himself included. Yet the females of the school kept flocking to the pale-eyed boy. Gaara observed the teenager for a little while longer, noting the distant, almost disdainful look in Neji's eyes despite the smile on his face.

Gaara's attention returned to his phone at the feel of it vibrating in his hand. Opening the message from his sister, the teenager sighed in exasperation before typing out a response.

"_Just get him the stupid shirt. It's orange. He'll be happy."_

"Should I be jealous of whoever it is that took your attention away from me?"

Gaara didn't need to look up to know who that voice belonged to. Besides, there was only one person who would have the guts to say something like that to him. Ever since that day they'd hung out together, Neji had developed a strange habit of slipping comments like those into their frequent but brief conversations.

"Why would you even think you had my attention in the first place?" The redhead muttered, shooting the older male a half-hearted glare before turning back to his phone and hitting "send."

"I'm seriously considering charging you by the minute for staring."

"I was not staring." Gaara lied.

"And you don't find me the least bit easy on the eyes." Neji said.

Gaara said nothing, refusing to be baited into Neji's flirtatious teasing.

The barest of smiles tugged at the taller boy's lips and amusement danced in his eyes. Behind Neji, Gaara could see the two girls watching them. The redhead shot them a vicious scowl which immediately sent them both scampering off while whispering to each other furiously.

"You're never going to get a girlfriend if you keep that up." Neji said, sliding into the seat in front Gaara.

"I have no interest in something like that."

"No interest in what? Romantic relationships or just girls? Frankly, I'm hoping it's only the latter."

Again, Gaara refrained from responding, deliberately ignoring the statement. Neji observed the shorter male, noting Gaara's pause and the stiffening of the redhead's shoulders at his words. It was clear, Gaara wasn't as unaffected by Neji's words as he made it seem.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Neji asked suddenly.

"Why do you want to know?"

"You have a bad habit of answering my questions with questions."

"So then why do you keep asking them?"

Neji chuckled at this. It was a rich, low sound that wasn't entirely unpleasant, Gaara supposed. Even the brunet's laugh was attractive.

Gaara could feel eyes on them. The few people in the classroom were staring at them with unabashed curiosity. Good thing the redhead didn't give a damn. Someone talking to him was an anomaly in itself but Neji Hyuga? That was sensational.

"I think we should do something together this Saturday."

The redhead eyed the other male for a moment before answering.

"Can't. It's Naruto's birthday. His fathers are having a small surprise party for him."

When no response was forthcoming, Gaara looked up to shoot Neji an inquiring look.

"What?"

Neji shrugged. "It's nothing."

Gaara studied the male for a few more seconds before turning to look out the window. His eyes followed two birds that were chasing each other in the nippy, autumn air. Neji's eyes were still on him. He could feel them studying him intently.

"I don't have practice this evening." The brunet said suddenly.

"I'm going to look for Naruto's gift." Gaara said flatly, knowing exactly what Neji was getting at.

"I'll help you look."

Gaara turned fully in his chair to stare at the other male. Neji returned the look with a stubborn one.

"Did I ask for help?"

"No but you're getting it anyway." Neji responded without missing a beat, meeting the challenging look in Gaara's eyes head on.

The redhead stared back for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth the effort. Besides, it wasn't like he actually hated Neji's company.

"Whatever." Gaara mumbled.

Neji smirked then. He'd won this one.

"After school then." The brunet said before standing and walking off. Gaara followed him with his eyes for a while, watching the sway of his long hair and the fluidity of his movements until he exited the classroom. He didn't get the brunet and his sudden desire to be in Gaara's company, and especially not his behavior towards him. Recently, his interactions with Neji always left him feeling...unhinged. Rolling his eyes, Gaara dug through his pocket in search of his vibrating phone. Flipping it open, the teenager growled in aggravation. His sister was starting to piss him off.

* * *

"So what exactly are you hoping to get him?" Neji asked as he came to stand close to Gaara. They'd come straight to this store after school let out, walking together in the crisp autumn air. Unperturbed by Gaara's lack of responses, Neji had maintained a fairly decent chatter all the way here.

"A book." The redhead responded.

"Ahh. So that's why we're in a bookstore! I was wondering what we were doing in here." The brunet said feigning sudden understanding

Gaara shot him a look before returning to flipping through the book in his hands.

"Smart-ass."

Neji smirked but didn't respond to the insult.

"I meant what book exactly?"

"Not sure yet." Gaara admitted, scanning the text on a few pages.

Leaning over Gaara's shoulder, he peered at the book. The redhead tensed at the action but said nothing. Neji was standing so close he could almost feel the brunet's chest pressed against his back, and that was definitely the older male's breath ghosting across his ear. This close, the scent of Neji's cologne or whatever the hell he wore invaded Gaara's nose. Gaara just knew he was doing it on purpose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gaara bit out finally, turning his head slightly to the side and hoping his nervousness couldn't be heard in his voice. He was so close that strands of the other boy's hair were in his face. The redhead refused to budge. It was his personal space being invaded and he'd be damned if he was going to move, no matter how uneasy being this close to Neji was making him.

"That's a good one." The brunet said approvingly. "My little cousin, Hinata, really likes it."

"Glad you approve." Gaara said sarcastically, snapping the book shut loudly before walking off. His posture clearly spoke of the irritation he felt. Neji was having an odd effect on him and Gaara didn't like it.

Quietly, Neji followed behind the misanthropic redhead, a small smile on his face. He couldn't help himself. Gaara was one of the few people able to capture Neji's attention and hold it, ever since elementary school. Neji's smile widened minutely as he watched Gaara's derriere move in his school uniform. The redhead was as hot as his temper. The brunet knew of quite a few girls at school that secretly harbored crushes on the shorter male. The redhead had no idea how fiercely attractive his dark and mysterious persona really was to some people. Of course, unlike Neji, the girls were all too petrified to do anything about their feelings. After all, to approach Gaara Sabaku, one needed balls. Quietly, Neji snickered at his own joke.

Gaara could feel the other boy's eyes on him. He was growing soft. First Naruto, now Neji. At least with Naruto, the little boy's blatant hero worship of him was obvious. Neji, though—Gaara was having a rather hard time figuring him out or rather he was having a hard time believing someone like Neji could have any kind of interest in him. Even worse was the ease with which he was accepting Neji's presence. He wasn't sure which confused him more—the brunet's actions or his own.

The redhead startled the poor cashier when he slammed his book down on the counter. The girl stared wide-eyed at the scowling highschooler before her. Neji cocked an eyebrow at the blush spreading across the girl's face, the longer she stared at Gaara.

"I'd like to pay for that." The teenager snapped.

"R-right." The girl said nervously reaching for the book. At the sound of Gaara's voice, her blush had darkened considerably.

Not for the first time, Neji wondered if Gaara was truly clueless as to how good-looking he really was. For all the time he'd been observing him, Gaara never seemed to realize the effect he had on girls, or maybe he just didn't care. Hell, he'd never even seen Gaara's eyes linger on a girl or anyone for that matter.

The brunet raised an eyebrow when the girl stuttered out the price. Placing exact change on the counter, Gaara snatched up his purchase and walked off, leaving the stuttering girl to stare after him in wonder. Maybe the redhead just wasn't interested in girls. Then again, was there even anyone Gaara was interested in? Well, there was that little friend of his, but he didn't count in Neji's eyes.

"Let's go to a cafe." Neji said, stepping up next to Gaara, just as the shorter male turned around in search of him.

"A cafe." Gaara repeated, decidedly unimpressed.

"I'm in the mood for something warm to drink, aren't you?" Neji responded, smiling. A strong, chilly wind blew by at the moment as if to emphasize his words. Gaara watched as Neji's hair was tugged to the side, the long ponytail dancing in the wind behind him, his bangs blowing into his face. The shorter male resisted the urge to snort in derision at the image.

"Fine." The teenager muttered, placing the book in his bag and averting his eyes.

"This way then." Neji said, a small smile on his lips as he lead the way. With a sigh, Gaara followed after the taller male.

* * *

Gaara stared down at the mug set before him in anticipation. He could practically hear the seductive purr emanating from the mug of hot chocolate with a mound of whipped cream floating on top. Neji watched curiously as Gaara devoured the mug before him with his eyes. Tenderly, the redhead brought the mug to his lips and took a sip. The contents were as heavenly as they looked. Neji felt his face flush when Gaara's tongue flicked out to lick the whipped cream that had clung to his upper lip. The redhead released a barely audible sigh of pleasure before looking up to his companion. His face immediately contorted into a glare.

"What."

"I never pegged you as a hot chocolate type." The brunet said amiably, trying to draw Gaara's attention away from the blush that surely was visible on his face. Gaara's glare simply deepened.

"And exactly what "type" have you pegged me as?"

Neji could see the annoyance written all over Gaara's fine features, but remained unperturbed. The older male thought about the question, taking the time to sip the tea set before him.

"I always thought of you as a coffee drinker, for some reason." Neji responded.

"I hate coffee."

"Noted." Neji said, smiling slightly when Gaara's gaze held his.

Setting down his drink, the redhead stared hard at his classmate for a long moment. Neji said nothing as he stared back, instead allowing the smile to fall from his lips and his eyes to take on an intense look as he met Gaara's gaze head on.

"What do you want?" Gaara finally said, his eyes taking on a cold glare.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked curiously before taking another sip of his tea.

"I want to know why you're doing this. Why the sudden interest in me? What are you hoping to accomplish?" Gaara said, leaning back and folding his arms. "Just come out and say it and stop wasting both of our time."

Gaara's mouth was turned down at the corners in a small frown, and his brows were furrowed slightly as he glared at Neji.

Neji watched the other boy. As always, some of his crimson bangs fell over his forehead, obscuring the mark there. Neji could still remember the day Gaara had shown up in school with the mark on his forehead.

In fact, he'd been watching Gaara for a long time, ever since elementary school. He'd found himself inexplicably drawn to the other male. Yet, he'd always been unable to approach him. Gaara was always alone, never sought out the company of others. He walked his own part in life blatantly disregarding the rest of humanity and what they thought of him. Resting his hands on the table that separated them, Neji leaned forward.

"You're interesting." The brunet said. "I find you interesting."

"You find me interesting." Gaara deadpanned, his eyes alone clearly calling Neji out on his bullshit.

"I do." Neji insisted. "You're different."

Gaara raised a hairless brow "No shit."

Neji chuckled at that response.

"Is it that hard to believe I enjoy your company?" Neji asked lightly. "Or want it, for that matter?"

Gaara simply gave him a look that said he thought the taller boy had a screw or two loose.

"Nobody enjoys my company, much less wants it." Gaara answered. Except Naruto.

Neji didn't respond right away. He admired Gaara and the way he always remained true to himself. He'd watched the redhead struggle through his tumultuous childhood and come out stronger because of it. Gaara never cared what others thought of him. He never pretended he was something he was not. He didn't feel the need to meet anyone's expectations but his own.

"When you look at me, what do you see?" Neji asked.

"What?"

"When you look at me... Tell me, what do you see."

"I see an annoying, stuck up ass."

Neji laughed at this, a genuine sound showcasing his amusement at Gaara's words. Gaara's face was blank as always as he waited for Neji's laughing fit to end.

"Is that really how you see me?" The older male finally asked, looking at Gaara. His pale eyes still danced with the humor of the other's statement. Gaara simply glared.

"Is that all you see?"

Gaara remained silent for a while as he watched the amused brunet.

"No..." Gaara mumbled finally, unfolding his arms.

"I see someone so bound by expectations, and what he believes is his fate, that he's struggling to keep from losing himself."

Neji hadn't been the only observant one over the years.

Of all the things he expected, that was the furthest from his mind. The amusement evaporated from Neji's face at Gaara's words. Instead, the older male's handsome features morphed into something that Gaara wasn't sure he could identify. The two males stared at each other, their drinks cooling between them. Rolling his eyes, Gaara broke the stare and returned to his drink.

"I like you, you know."

The sudden words made Gaara pause with his mug held between his hands.

"What?" Gaara questioned, looking up at the brunet.

Said brunet was staring at him intently, pale eyes observing Gaara with a steady gaze.

"I said I like you." Neji repeated softly. He hadn't meant to say it the first time. It had just come out as he'd sat there, staring at Gaara. They'd simply fallen from his lips on impulse.

Gaara remained silent, staring at Neji, his face unreadable. The look in Neji's eyes removed any doubt in Gaara's mind as to what the other male meant. The minutes ticked by between them, excruciatingly long as the brunet waited for some kind of response from his rigid companion. His cup of tea was gripped tightly in his hands. Unable to maintain eye contact, Neji allowed his eyes to fall to the table top. Across from him, Gaara was quiet, not even moving.

Absently, the brunet traced the pattern on his cup with his fingers. He could feel the scrutiny he was being subjected to.

"The truth is—"

"You're as big an idiot as the brat."

The interruption made Neji look up at his companion. Gaara was no longer staring at him and had once again focused on his mug of hot chocolate.

Neji watched as the smaller male brought the mug to his lips.

"I suppose so..." Neji whispered as he turned to glance out the window they were sitting next to. Should he take that as a rejection? Well, it's not like he had any real hope to begin with.

"I don't get you two." Gaara whispered to himself while looking down at the contents of his mug. "You or Naruto."

Neji frowned at this, not entirely sure he was content to be lumped together with a ten-year old. As many references as Gaara made to the little boy, Neji automatically knew exactly whom the redhead was talking about.

"We're totally different. He and I."

Gaara eyed Neji over the rim of his mug. The older male seemed slightly peeved.

"Obviously. You're not ten." Gaara muttered before finishing his drink.

Neji shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do or say. At least Gaara wasn't trying to punch his face in. He'd liked Gaara for a long time. The redhead was the first male he'd had a serious crush on, and until recently, Neji had always perceived him as being unattainable. However, he'd seized the opportunity presented to him when Lee became acquainted with the redhead to try and get closer.

"So?"

Neji looked up from his musings to meet Gaara's eyes.

"So what?"

"What do you want?" Gaara asked. Neji had pictured numerous reactions to his confessions but none of the disinterest he'd imagined came close to the real thing.

"If I told you, would you give it to me or are you simply trying to satisfy your curiosity?"

Gaar scoffed at Neji's answer.

"Now who's answering a question with a question?" Gaara said, folding his arms and taking on a cold look.

Neji stared into the green eyes focused on him unsure of how to proceed. It probably would have been better if the redhead had come straight out and rejected him.

"When you're done playing around, you know how to reach me." Gaara said flatly.

"That's—"

"—I'm going home." Gaara cut in. He'd lost his patience with the older male. If he couldn't just come out and say it, then he wasn't worth Gaara's time.

The redhead didn't wait for a response as he promptly walked off.

The brunet stared after Gaara, slightly taken aback, until he disappeared through the door. His eyes dropped to the table and for the first time since his confession, he realised how fast his heart was beating.

* * *

Kakashi loved Naruto. He truly did. He probably couldn't love him any more if he'd come from his own loins. He'd do anything to make the kid happy. Honestly. Anything...just not right now. The man groaned as Naruto plopped down next to him on the couch and continued to talk. Flipping on the television, Kakashi turned to the evening news and turned up the volume. Naruto simply started speaking louder. The boy had been going at it since before dinner time. After dinner, he'd made Kakashi the focus of his attention and had followed the man everywhere, talking non-stop. Iruka was busy grading his students' assignments which left Kakashi to entertain the overly energetic child, when all he wanted to do was sit and watch the evening news.

"Naruto." The man said. His voice was devoid of the irritation he was feeling. Naruto didn't miss the impatient twitch of his brow though.

"Yes?" The blond asked innocently, blinking at his father, a happy grin plastered on his face.

"Two dollars and you stop talking for thirty minutes."

And there it was. Naruto's previously happy grin morphed into a smirk. The older man, whose eyes were fixed to the television screen, missed the devious smile.

"Five and I'll throw in an extra fifteen minutes."

Kakashi turned to eye his son.

"Three and you make it the entire news hour."

Naruto tilted his head to the side as he thought about the offer.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"Four and the entire news hour."

"Done." Kakashi said, a smile of relief on his face. "Go bring my wallet."

With a nod, Naruto scampered off to do as told.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to pay him to shut up anymore."

Kakashi looked up to see his partner entering the room with Bull rambling along close on his heels. Kakashi grinned sheepishly as Iruka plopped down next to him. Bull promptly stretched out on the floor and settled to do what he did best, sleep.

"It works, doesn't it?" The silver-haired man asked as he pulled his lover closer to him.

"Yes, but...never mind." Iruka said. There was no point. Instead, he decided to settle against his partner's side, resting his head against Kakashi's shoulder.

"Taking a break?" Kakashi said softly, bringing a hand to run through Iruka's hair as he lowered his head to breath in the scent of his lover.

"Yeah."

Naruto stared at the couch where his parents sat, listening to their murmured conversation. He had a secret wish to one day be like them, to one day have what they did, to one day have someone love him as much as they loved each other.

The boy's mind drifted to Gaara. He'd gone over there earlier but the redhead hadn't been home. Finally, tired of waiting and disappointed, he'd left. As much fun as it had been harassing Kankuro, he'd gone to see Gaara, and the redhead hadn't been there. Naruto's small hands tightened into fists. Lately, every time he thought of Gaara, his stomach would feel funny and every time the teenager's eyes lingered his face would heat up.

"Naruto, why are you just standing there?"

Blinking, Naruto looked up to see Iruka observing him. Plastering a grin on his face, the boy turned and ran off to find Kakashi's wallet

"I'll be right back." The little boy yelled as he dashed off. Iruka stared after his son, a small frown on his face.

"What was that about?" Iruka mumbled to himself as he thought of the odd expression on Naruto's face.

Naruto paused in his parents' bedroom for a while biting his lip as his mind went back to Gaara.

"He's **my** friend." The blond said aloud, staring down at the ground. With a nod to himself, the ten-year old went back to retrieving Kakashi's wallet.

* * *

Gaara watched the now eleven year old boy from where he'd sank down on the edge of Naruto's bed. Naruto's eyes were focused on the floor as he stood with his back pressed against his bedroom door, small hands still holding on to the doorknob. There was a faint blush on his cheeks. He'd grown since Gaara first met him, the redhead noted.

The blond's birthday party was finally over. Gaara's siblings had left a while back and Sasuke's brother had come by to pick him up a few minutes ago. The little party had been a success.

Iruka had been ecstatic, beaming the entire time at the success of the party.

Naruto had grinned all evening, opening mounds of presents (Kakashi had gotten carried away), absorbing the attention showered on him, and cajoling people into playing various games. It had only been Naruto's parents, the Sabaku siblings and the dark-haired boy Sasuke (and the eight dogs, seven wearing a party hat—Bull's head was too big), but the boy had been so happy. His happiness had been infectious throughout the afternoon and everyone had been contaminated.

The blond had documented the evening all with his brand new camera, only one of the many gifts he'd been showered with. To Naruto, this was one of the happiest days in his life, being surrounded by his precious people on his birthday. He'd even managed to get a picture of Sasuke half-smiling after said boy had managed to pummel Kankuro in the video game he'd bought Naruto as a birthday present. Gaara had found his eyes constantly being drawn to the happy figure of his little friend the entire evening. Never had he seen Naruto's eyes sparkle like that.

Naruto fidgeted against the door. Earlier, he'd cornered Gaara and asked him to stay after everyone left. The redhead had accented to it and as soon as Sasuke had left, he'd snatched the teenager's hand in his and dragged him off to his room. Now that they were in his room though, Naruto was suddenly having an attack of nerves.

Gaara stared curiously at his friend, trying to guess what was going through the little boy's mind. When the blond made no move, the redhead glanced around the room. It was neater than he thought it would be and every bit as colorful as he expected it to be. The redhead noticed his old blanket folded neatly at the foot of the bed and Gamabunta sitting like a proud king on one of Naruto's pillows. Movement from the corner of his eye caught Gaara's attention.

Naruto had finally decided to move and was slowly walking over to the redhead, his eyes still focused downward and his face dusted with pink. He was biting on his bottom lip in a way that was actually kind of cute. Resting his arms on his legs, Gaara leaned forward and patiently waited for Naruto to make his way over. Finally, the blond came to stop right before Gaara. The boy stared down at the larger hands before him. Gaara's hands were as pale as the rest of him, his fingers long and bony. They reminded him of Kashi's hands. The boy didn't move when one of those hands lifted and came to rest on his head.

"Chibi..."

Looking up, Naruto observed the passive face of his best friend. Gaara gently caressed the soft strands with his hand. The gentleness of the gesture wasn't lost on Naruto. It was an odd action coming from the usually abrasive older male. Slowly, the preteen reached for the hand on his head and removed it. Not letting go, the blond moved forward until he was standing between Gaara's legs.

With Gaara seated, their eyes were at the same level. The teenager stared at his little friend, hiding his surprise at Naruto's actions. The position of them both made him feel slightly uncomfortable, despite the innocence he knew lay behind Naruto's behavior. It didn't help that the blond was still holding his hand in his smaller ones. Still, Gaara made no move to distance himself from the boy. Idly, Naruto's fingers began fiddling with his own.

"Ketchup-head."

"You're eleven. Don't you think you're too old to be calling me that now?" Gaara asked calmly, watching as Naruto bent and unbent his fingers. The boy's hands were soft but thinner than when they first met.

Naruto looked up, a smile on his face. Still clutching Gaara's hand, he leaned forward, bringing his body closer to the older male's. Gaara lifted a brow at the action but made no motion to push the boy away. It was Naruto's birthday after all. He could allow the transgression this once.

"We're always gonna be best friends, right?"

"What kind of question is that? Besides, didn't you ask me that before? And when did I ever say we were such a thing?" Gaara muttered. He really hated repeating himself, even if it was something he'd said months ago. Naruto scowled.

"No, I didn't! I only asked you if we'd always be friends, not **best** friends and I say we're best friends so we are!" The boy answered in irritation. "Can't you just answer the question?"

"You're really demanding, you know that?"

When Naruto pouted, Gaara rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Fine. We'll always be best friends."

Naruto didn't say anything for a while, returning to play with Gaara's hand.

"No matter who else we're friends with?" The blond finally asked, his voice small.

That question made Gaara pause. This time the redhead really stared at his little friend, for the first time noting the uneasiness he saw in the blue eyes shining back at him. Naruto lowered his eyes from the gaze, and released Gaara's hand. Instead, his hands transferred to Gaara's shirt to fiddle with one of the buttons on the front. Naruto looked so vulnerable next to him, waiting for reassurance from the teenager. The sudden need to reassure the eleven year old was strong.

"Chibi. Look at me." Gaara said softly.

Naruto looked up to meet Gaara's eyes. The redhead's face was like a porcelain mask, blank of any real expression.

"No matter what. We'll always be best friends. No matter who else we're friends with... I'll always be your friend, and nothing and nobody will change that."

Naruto stared at the older boy, before a happy smile overtook his face.

"So now you can stop being so damn annoying with your ridiculous questions." Gaara said, suppressing the smirk struggling to get out as he watched Naruto's smile contort into a scowl.

"Must you ruin the moment? You're such a jerk, sometimes!" Naruto declared, hitting his fist against Gaara's abdomen.

This time the redhead did smirk at the irate blond. Naruto glared half-heartedly.

"Bastard."

Gaara was taken by surprise when he abruptly found himself falling back onto Naruto's bed, an eleven-year old on top him and skinny arms wrapped around him tightly. The older male stared down at the mop of yellow locks standing out starkly against the backdrop of his dark-colored shirt.

"You're my bastard, though." Naruto mumbled into Gaara's shirt, hugging the teenager tightly.

The sudden claim on his person took the redhead by surprise making him blush as his head fell back to the bed.

"God, you're so fucking clingy." Gaara grumbled, bringing a hand up to rest gingerly on Naruto's back. The preteen grinned into Gaara's shirt at the obvious discomfort he was causing his older friend. Yet, Gaara made no move to push him away. Instead, the older boy was giving him an awkward, sort of half embrace.

"You're not exactly a walk in the park yourself, you know." The blond responded.

The hand that made contact with the back of his head made Naruto yelp in pain even as his grin widened. He was never going to let Gaara go.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I live! Finally, this chapter is ready after numerous rounds of back and forth with my beta, Mei-love. It has finally received the Mei Mei stamp of approval. Enjoy! Once again, thanks to all those great folks who regularly message me and take the time to review or simply lurk around and put this story on alert. I appreciate you your lurking too.

* * *

Naruto sat impatiently tapping his foot. He was starving and Sasuke was still no where in sight. Glancing down at the bento in his lap, Naruto gazed longingly, resisting the urge to open it. He knew once he did, all would be lost, and the contents would be swiftly devoured. Shaking his head vigorously to stave off temptation, the blond glanced to the bottom of the stairs. He was sitting on the staircase that lead up to the roof waiting for Sasuke. It had grown too chilly for them to sit on the roof now.

The blond had promised to share his lunch with his friend seeing as how Sasuke's lunches were usually barely edible attempts at food. As cool as Sasuke's brother looked, he was a terrible cook. So Naruto often took pity on his buddy and shared his food. Today though, he was seriously considering leaving his friend to suffer through the torture his brother passed off as lunch. A loud growl indicated his stomach's vehement agreement.

"What took you so long?" The blond demanded as he finally spotted Sasuke.

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, clearly disgruntled and out of breath as he climbed the stairs to sink down next to his friend.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked curiously as he handed his friend a pair of chopsticks.

"They just don't give up!" Sasuke growled as he took the chopsticks being offered to him.

"Huh?"

"Girls! Especially that blonde one and the one with the big forehead."

"They have names, you know." Naruto said distractedly as he opened his lunch, instantly knowing who Sasuke was referring to. He'd been forced to sit through quite a few rants about the girls that chased his friend all over the school. The blond still wasn't sure what they saw in Sasuke.

Grudgingly, under torture, he could admit that Sasuke was good looking but his bastardly personality eclipsed all his physical merits in Naruto's mind. Plus, no one could match Gaara anyway, not even Sasuke.

"Like I give a damn!" The brunet muttered, shoving some rice into his mouth.

"Why are you so mean to them?"

"They won't leave me alone! What part of 'I'm not interested' don't they understand?"

The blond rolled his eyes.

"They're not that bad, especially Sakura. I think she's really pretty." Naruto said absently, starting on his lunch with gusto and completely missing the scandalized look from Sasuke.

"What?" The blond asked between mouthfuls of food, finally noting the odd stare and lack of movement from his companion.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I be? Her hair is a pretty shade of pink."

"You are **such** a loser." Sasuke said, reaching for the contents of Naruto's lunch.

"And you're **such** a bastard." The blond shot back before he shoved more food into his mouth. "I don't even know what they see in you."

"Dead last."

"Jerk."

The two boys continued to exchange petty insults as they jostled for the contents of Naruto's lunch.

In a matter of minutes they annihilated the contents of Naruto's bento; both boys sat back satisfied. Well, mostly Sasuke was satisfied. Naruto would have to make do with what he managed to wrestle away from Sasuke and into his stomach.

"Oh! 'Ruka said to give these to you and to make sure you show them to your brother." Naruto said, handing Sasuke a small packet.

"What's that?"

"It's pictures from my birthday party!" Naruto responded grinning.

Sasuke opened the packet and examined the pictures in it. They were all pictures of him.

Naruto smiled mischievously as he poked Sasuke in the ribs. "You had a lot of fun."

"Stop that." The dark-haired boy snapped, swatting at Naruto.

"Admit it." Naruto said, delivering another poke. "You even almost smiled once."

"Stop." The boy said again, swatting at Naruto's hand but missing.

"Say it." _Poke._

"Naruto..."

"Admit." _Poke._ "You." _Poke._ "Had." _Poke._ "Fun-OW! What the hell?" Naruto yelled, gripping his arm where Sasuke had punched him.

"I told you to stop." Sasuke said, smirking at the look of pain contorting Naruto's face.

"Did you **have** to hit me that hard?"

"Did you **have** to be such a pest?"

"You're no fun at all." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his aching arm in a lame attempt to soothe it.

"Hmph, whatever." Sasuke snapped haughtily, shoving the pictures back into their packet.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Ask your brother to get you a frame for that one with the both of us."

"Why?"

"Because, we're buddies! You should put it in a frame and put it somewhere. Like on your desk or something."

Sasuke shot the blond a blank look. "So the sight of your ugly face could give me nightmares? No thanks."

"If your reflection hasn't given you nightmares yet, you'll be fine."

Sasuke glared and Naruto grinned in triumph.

"Zing!" The blond chuckled, wiggling his fingers in front Sasuke's face.

Sasuke punched him again, feeling particularly satisfied by the yelp of pain it elicited.

"Wanna come over this weekend? We can play that game you bought me." Naruto said, deciding to get his revenge later while rubbing the abused spot on his arm.

"Whatever." Sasuke responded absently, adjusting the pictures in the packet to ensure they wouldn't end up bending.

"Naruto."

"Hmm?"

"I've been wondering something..."

"What's that?"

Sasuke shifted. It was something that he was terribly curious about and had been dying to ask ever since Naruto's party.

"...What's it like...you know...having two dads?"

Naruto stared at his friend for a moment, considering him and his question.

"What do you mean?" The blond asked cautiously and more than a little guarded.

Sasuke thought for a moment about his question, shuffling nervously next to his friend.

"I mean...I dunno...they're both guys...isn't it a little...like...how do they do **it, **you know?... Like, How does it work?" Sasuke managed to stutter out, his face a bright red and eyes focused firmly on his feet.

The blond simply stared back, utterly confused.

"How does what work?"

"You know..." The dark-haired boy said, his blush intensifying partly from embarrassment and partly from irritation. "**IT!**"

Naruto gave Sasuke an odd look. "...Are you...bothered that I have two dads?"

Sasuke stared at his friend. Naruto's eyes had suddenly taken on a piercing look. The older boy contemplated the look for a moment. He knew where the question was coming from. His older brother had told him that not everyone would be accepting of the relationship between Naruto's parents, and they'd spent a lot of time talking about same-sex relationships. Itachi had answered all Sasuke's questions, except the one thing Sasuke just couldn't wrap his head around. It was killing him not knowing. Granted, he'd been too scared and embarrassed to ask his brother.

But goodness, was Naruto really this dense?

"No, it doesn't bother me, you idiot. If it did, do you really think I'd come over to your house?"

Naruto observed his friend for a moment longer before his expression returned to one of confusion.

"So then what are you asking?"

"Forget it." Sasuke grumbled, looking away. Maybe he was overestimating Naruto's intelligence. He'd have to find another way to get his answer. It wasn't like he could ask his brother. Just the thought of that alone made him shudder. He was six when he'd asked Itachi how the lady walking by them ended up with a baby in there. He'd received a lecture on human reproduction complete with visual aids and a university level text book. He was six and most of it had gone over his head at the time, but it had taken him over a month to be able to look a girl in the eye again. He sure as hell wasn't going to risk asking his brother about this, not if he wanted to hold on to the remaining vestiges of a normal life.

"Suit yourself." Naruto mumbled just as the bell rang.

Sasuke simply rolled his eyes in irritation as he stood up. He'd just have to do some research on his own.

* * *

Even though he didn't look like it, Gaara was in fact listening to every rambling word being uttered by Naruto. Once again, the boy was informing Gaara of his day in as animated a way as he could muster. So far they'd gone over the evils of Mizuki-sensei's pop quiz, the mischief of some kid named Kiba, the great lunch Iruka had made him and they were once more on one of Naruto's most common topics —Sasuke. Gaara turned in his chair to look over nonchalantly at his little friend draped unceremoniously all over his bed. Naruto's diatribes about Sasuke were always amusing to Gaara simply because a riled up Naruto was fascinating to watch.

"He was acting so weird today! I mean, he's always weird, but today was weirder than usual." Naruto declared as he rolled over on his side to get a better look at Gaara while pulling a pillow closer to him. Gaara guessed his arms were probably tired from all the flailing about. The blue eyes were bright with indignation as they latched on to Gaara.

Naruto paused in his ranting for a moment when they made eye contact. Suddenly meeting Gaara's intense gaze made his stomach feel strange. The blond unconsciously bit his bottom lip as he hugged the pillow closer.

Gaara observed the boy curiously. His blue eyes had darkened slightly and his face had taken on a slight flush.

"Are you sniffing my pillow again?" The redhead asked.

Gaara's voice pulled Naruto out of his daze.

"W-What? No!" The blond yelled, shoving the pillow away and sitting up while managing to look only a little bit guilty.

Gaara's eyes shone with amused exasperation but the rest of him barely twitched.

"A-anyway, like I was saying about Sasuke..." Naruto continued, face red as he rolled unto his back. This time, the redhead's lips did twitch in a lame attempt at a smile.

As for Naruto, he quickly tried to hide his momentary lapse by describing his conversation with Sasuke.

Gaara listened patiently, brows beginning to furrow the further Naruto got into his tale.

"And then he asked me how does it work? What the hell did he even mean by that? And he wouldn't tell me when I asked! Stupid Sasuke. And then he looked at me like I'm the idiot 'cause **I** didn't know what he was talking about, like **I'm** supposed to be some kind of psychic or something."

The redhead frowned slightly. He had a fairly good idea of what Sasuke meant, and he did not appreciate Sasuke asking Naruto such a thing. That kid was going to corrupt the Chibi; he just knew it. From the moment they'd met, he just knew the kid would be a bad influence on his innocent little friend. The dark haired boy was much too precocious for Gaara's liking.

"Do you have any idea what Sasuke might have been talking about?" Naruto asked curiously while chewing his bottom lip in contemplation.

Gaara answered without missing a beat.

"No idea whatsoever." The redhead said flatly, suddenly rising to his feet and stretching while avoiding eye contact with the blond on his bed. No way in hell he was going to answer that truthfully. Besides, he only had a vague idea himself. His curiosity had yet to build to that point where he'd attempt finding out the details.

The eleven-year old watched as the older male stretched, bending slightly backwards to get the kinks out of his spine. Once again, Naruto found his eyes riveted to the expanse of skin that became visible as Gaara's shirt rode up. It looked so pale and incredibly smooth. Yet again, the blond found himself wondering what it would be like to hug Gaara when he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Sure he'd hugged the older male lots of times, he liked the way Gaara felt against him, all hard lines and unrelenting, wiry muscle. He liked the firm feel of the other male. He wasn't sure why he liked the feel of Gaara so much but he did. It just felt right and sometimes he wished Gaara would let him curl up in the teenager's lap, the way he'd seen 'Ruka do to 'Kashi.

Sure, he hugged his parents all the time, but hugging Gaara was different somehow. Hugging his parents made him feel safe and loved. Gaara made him feel safe too, but there was another feeling he didn't quite understand. All he knew was that he wanted to be with the redhead as much as possible.

"Ketchup-head?"

Gaara sighed. That bloody name again.

"What is it?" The teenager bit out as he walked over and plopped down next to Naruto.

"Do you think... do you think it's weird having two dads?"

The redhead thought about the question as he studied his little friend. Naruto had sat up when Gaara joined him on the bed, legs dangling over the side. Golden hair fell around the little boy's head like a halo, and from this distance Gaara could clearly make out the long golden lashes that hedged brilliant blue eyes. Even he had to admit, Naruto was a beautiful child even with the thin scars adorning his cheeks.

When no answer came, Naruto turned to look at his friend.

"It's not weird." Gaara said. "It's just not as common. That doesn't make having two fathers weird."

The two boys stared at each other for a moment, before Naruto's face erupted in a huge grin.

Turning his body to face his friend, Naruto reached out for Gaara's hand. The redhead said nothing as he watched Naruto fiddle with his fingers. The young boy had developed a strange habit of idly playing with Gaara's hands whenever he got the chance, tangling and untangling their fingers. It was an odd habit, but Gaara simply accepted it and let Naruto have his way. It seemed to make his little friend happy, so Gaara let him continue. Naruto's hands were small and warm and Gaara really didn't mind the blond's touch. It was actually kind of nice in a lazily content sort of way.

The two lingered in silence watching their hands as Naruto lined up their fingers.

"Lots of people think it's weird... I see the looks we get sometimes, when we're all out together." Naruto said softly while wrapping Gaara's fingers around his own. The redhead opened his mouth to say something but was suddenly unsure of what to say. The previous large grin was gone, replaced by a somber expression.

"I hear the other kids at school whisper sometimes when I walk by."

Gaara frowned.

"Do they ever tell you anything to your face?"

Naruto shook his head as he stared at the larger fingers that had suddenly tightened around his hand.

"They're mostly just curious. But it doesn't matter what others think. My dads make each other happy. Besides, the people around here aren't as mean as the ones where we lived before." The blond said, smiling up at his friend and squeezing the hand wrapped around his own.

Gaara continued to stare at his little friend, mesmerized by the sudden bright smile sent his way. The child was like a mini sun when he smiled like that, so bright, that Gaara was warmed by it. It was moments like these that reminded Gaara of the simple fact that Naruto wasn't as truly naive as he tended to act.

"...You're like a vampire..." The blond said suddenly, taking note of Gaara's pale complexion as it contrasted against his own.

"OW!" Naruto yelped as his hand was crushed in the larger one of his friend.

Gaara twitched in irritation as Naruto struggled to get his hand free from the vice-like grip.

Finally satisfied with his revenge, the teenager released the smaller hand from his hold.

Naruto stuck his tongue out after the redhead while cradling his throbbing hand.

"Can't even take a joke." The boy grumbled as he glared up at the older male.

"If my complexion bothers you so much, you don't have to stare at me all the time, you know."

Naruto sputtered, his face a vibrant shade of red as he looked away haughtily.

The redhead simply cocked a brow in question before standing up and looking out the window. The sun was beginning to set. Every day got darker earlier than the day before. From his position, he could see the trees swaying in the evening breeze.

"Ketchup-head?"

At the sound of his nickname, the redhead turned to look at the other boy. Naruto was standing up now, his feet planted firmly on the floor. His face was tinged pink as he gazed at his feet. His posture suddenly seemed nervous and his small fingers picked imaginary lint of his t-shirt.

"...One day...we'll be just like 'Ruka and 'Kashi, won't we?"

At the question, the room plunged into an extraordinarily, uncomfortable silence.

Naruto fidgeted and dared to peek at the older boy through the fringes of his hair. Gaara's eyes were riveted on him, watching him in a way that made the blond squirm. The green eyes were wide as they watched.

Gaara simply stared, stunned, at the little boy standing a few feet away.

Did Naruto just ask what he thought he did? Judging by the uneasy fidgeting, the blond certainly did.

Did he even understand what he was asking Gaara? The redhead doubted that.

Suddenly, Kankuro's grating, teasing voice was echoing around in the older male's head. _"If I didn't know better, I'd say he had a crush on you."_

The teenager shook his head firmly. That was ridiculous. Naruto had just turned eleven.

Well, shit. How was he supposed to respond? The longer Gaara stood there the more anxious Naruto became, his face becoming redder as the minutes ticked by. The redhead was frozen in place and hadn't budged since the question was asked.

Naruto wanted to say something to break the oppressive silence, but more than that he wanted an answer. It was a question he'd been wanting to ask for a while now and had finally worked up the courage to ask it. In his eyes, they paralleled his parents so much that to him it was the only logical course for them. They were best friends. They would always be best friends. Naruto didn't want to ever be without Gaara, he wanted to grow up to have what his parents had. Except, he wanted it with Gaara. He'd already decided that and in his mind, it made sense.

As the silence approached near unbearable levels, Gaara suddenly felt cornered. The boy standing before him looked so incredibly dejected as the seconds ticked by and there was no answer. Part of him wanted to go to the child and reassure him with a rough pat to his head and a murmured "Chibi", the pet name that always seemed to bring a smile to that face; part of him just wanted to flee from this. How the hell did he end up in such a situation? Did this mean that the little boy before him was...? Dammit, he was eleven! Gaara did not want to go down that line of thinking. There was only one course of action.

"...It's getting late, shouldn't you be heading home?" The redhead asked, breaking the silence and brushing aside the question. Evasion. There was no way he could respond to a question like that! Naruto hadn't even hit puberty yet! He couldn't possibly understand what he was asking.

His adoration of his parents was simply translating into him wanting to be like them. That was all this was. He'd understand when he got older. This was what Gaara told himself as he broke eye contact.

Moving away from the window, Gaara headed to his bedroom door. The question had him incredibly uneasy, and that uncomfortable feeling he sometimes had when Naruto was too close was back. Almost like he was doing something he knew toed a line that should never ever be crossed.

The redhead didn't see the frown or the hurt reflected in the blue eyes studying him, or rather he chose to ignore it, despite the guilt that clawed at his insides. What the hell was this kid doing to him?

"Come on." Gaara said softly. "I'll walk you home."

Naruto wasn't sure what hurt more—Gaara blatantly disregarding the question or the fact that the redhead didn't think it was significant enough to warrant an answer.

Slowly, Naruto followed after his friend. The blond glared at the back of the taller boy's head.

Fine. If he wanted to ignore it, then Naruto would let him for now. It didn't matter because the blond's mind was already made up. He already knew what he wanted. He wanted what his parents had and Gaara would be the one to give that to him. He knew that with every fiber of his being even though his eleven year old mind didn't fully comprehend the unrelenting need he felt for the older boy. All he knew was that he couldn't think of being without the redhead. Gaara was his best friend. He was one of his most precious people and they were always going to be together. So why couldn't they share a relationship like his parents did?

Gaara glanced over his shoulder to meet the glare of the little blond. The redhead simply stared back determined to keep his discomfort from showing.

"What?" Gaara finally snapped, stopping to fully stare down the boy, praying that Naruto wouldn't press for an answer. The two stood in the hallway staring at each other. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Gaara noted that they'd been staring at each other a lot that evening. That sudden awareness only disturbed Gaara further.

"Don't bother! I'm old enough to walk myself home!" The blond suddenly yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the redhead.

Gaara, blinked, even going so far as to lean away from the finger pointed at him. Shocked, all he could do was let himself be shoved aside as Naruto raced past him and down the stairs.

The redhead groaned in frustration as a heavy stone of guilt settled in his stomach. Why was he suddenly feeling like the biggest asshole to walk to earth now?

"Why are you just standing there like the loser you are?"

Gaara turned at the sudden voice. Shaking his head slightly, the redhead shoved past his brother who'd just emerged from his own room.

"Piss off." The redhead grumbled before heading to his room and slamming the door, ignoring the bird his brother flipped him. He wasn't in the mood to verbally spar with his sibling.

* * *

"Don't you dare fucking stop!" Iruka growled as he wrapped his legs tighter, digging his heels into Kakashi, forcing the man to go deeper and maintain his speed. Kakashi groaned, spent but knowing better than to slow his pace, not when his lover was so close to the edge. Aside from his own desire to satisfy his lover, Iruka would castrate him if he stopped. The brunet tightened around the older male's now sensitive cock, squeezing and causing Kakashi to shudder. Shakily, the older male managed to wrap his hand around his lover's leaking erection. Iruka was close but Kakashi had gone over the edge first, leaving him unsteady and his nerve endings buzzing from the aftershock of his orgasm.

The brunet moaned loudly at the touch, nails digging into his lover's arms at the dual stimulation. Kakashi's breathing was shaky as he continued to rock into the body under him, pumping Iruka's cock in time with his heavy thrusts. His own need satisfied, the silver-haired man focused entirely on his partner, dragging moans and expletives from that pretty mouth. When they'd first met, he never would have guessed the younger man was capable of uttering half the things he did when in the bedroom. It never failed to make his blood boil and his dick harden. And Kakashi knew he would not be released until Iruka was completely satisfied.

"Fuck, faster!" Iruka demanded, voice shaky and breathless.

The larger male obliged, increasing the pace and forcing himself to go as deep as possible. A few more thrusts and Iruka came, yelling out Kakashi's name and breaking skin with his sharp nails as his body stiffened in release.

As Iruka collapsed back on the bed, Kakashi immediately followed, allowing himself to slump onto his lover in exhaustion. The house was silent except for their tired breathing. Gingerly, Iruka reached up and brushed aside the strands of hair that stuck to his forehead.

"Damn..."

Kakashi chuckled lightly, pushing himself up on his arms to gaze down at his lover's face.

"I take it you approve." The older man said smugly. Iruka rolled his eyes before pulling the other man into a sloppy kiss. Now that they were both satiated, the kiss was slow and contained none of the earlier heat that had scorched them on contact. Finally, after some minutes of basking in their shared afterglow, Kakashi gently extracted himself before flopping onto his back. Almost immediately, Iruka rolled onto his side to curl against the other man.

When lips pressed against his hair, the younger man hummed in pleasure and wrapped an arm around his bed-mate. The two lay like that, enjoying the quiet companionship. Somewhere in the house, one of the dogs yipped, probably Bisuke from the high pitched sound.

"Naruto asked me something interesting today." Iruka mumbled sleepily.

"Did he now." Kakashi said, just as softly.

"He wanted to know when exactly I realized that we belonged together."

Kakashi didn't immediately respond but his arm tightened around Iruka's shoulders, pulling him closer until the brunet's head rested on his chest.

"..And? What did you tell him?"

Iruka yawned, even more comfortable in the new position.

"I told him I knew when I could no longer see my life without you in it."

Fingers moving gently through his hair made the brunet smile tiredly. Kakashi was silent next to him but for Iruka, the older man didn't need to say anything.

The brunet had already succumbed to the strong pull of sleep by the time Kakashi spoke.

"Do you think Naruto seemed a little down when he came home this evening?"

His answer was a soft snore from his lover.

As Kakashi lay in the dark, Iruka's even breathing filling the silence, his mind wandered to his son and what might have prompted the question. He had a strong suspicion that it was somehow related to that redheaded brat that lived next door. The silver haired man frowned in the dark. He didn't have any evidence but his instincts had yet to mislead him. And they screamed at him every time he saw the punk of a kid walk by. Maybe he should talk to Naruto about this. Deciding to spend some one-on-one time with his adopted son soon, Kakashi finally joined his lover in sleep. It probably wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on Naruto's so-called best friend either.

* * *

Gaara tapped his pen idly against his notebook. He knew he should be taking notes but he couldn't focus long enough to do so. Every time he tried to listen to the droning explanations of his teacher, his mind rebelled, rerouting his thoughts to a certain little blond. Two days had already passed since the massively awkward incident with his self-proclaimed best friend, and during that time, he'd neither seen nor heard from the eleven year old. It was bothering him. In fact, it was driving him up a wall.

The speed of his tapping pencil increased, and his expression soured further causing the boy that sat next to him to glance over uneasily at the irritated redhead. For his troubles he received a nasty glare which quickly had him facing forward once more.

When at home, Gaara's ears remained trained on the sound of the front door opening and slamming in hopes that it would be Naruto bounding in uninvited as usual. The teenager couldn't remember the last time he'd been this frustrated with anything. Correction, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this frustrated with anything **besides** Naruto. He was actually missing the loudmouth, annoying, overly energetic, pain in his ass. On top of that, the image of Naruto's despondent face at Gaara's evasion kept tormenting him, causing his guilt to continue fermenting.

The feel of his phone vibrating in his pocket, startled the boy out of his musings. For a moment he considered ignoring it, too preoccupied with his own aggravation, before eventually changing his mind. Glancing at his teacher to ensure the chubby little man was preoccupied with the equations scrawled across the blackboard, Gaara dug out his phone.

Flipping it open below the desk, the redhead stared at the unopened message. Looking up, his eyes immediately zoned in on the sender. Neji seemed as attentive as ever but Gaara noted the phone the other male was holding beneath his desk. He sat upright in his seat with perfect posture. The redhead didn't dwell on the fact that one glance was all it took for him to noticed the slight change in positioning of the brunet's hair tie. It was a small discrepancy, really, but somehow it was glaringly obvious to Gaara.

Returning his attention to the message, Gaara quickly opened it.

"_r u okay? the guy next to u is about to wet himself. You're freakin him out."_

A quick glance up and Gaara found himself meeting Neji's gaze. The brunet held the gaze for a scant few seconds before looking forward once more. Taking a deep breath to calm himself and get his features under control, Gaara replied.

"_I'm fine."_

The redhead's attention turned once more to his partner in crime, watching as Neji opened his phone to read the reply. Gaara wasn't quite sure what about the two words caused a small smirk to form on the brunet's face, but some seconds later the redhead felt his phone vibrate again.

"_Can we talk? Will you meet me during lunch?"_

Gaara's fingers hovered over the keys of his phone as he considered the question.

"_Where?"_

"_Behind the garden club's tool shed. 30 minutes after the bell rings. No one goes there during lunch."_

Gaara stared at the words, an odd feeling of anticipation growing, momentarily replacing the guilt that had been gnawing at him.

His response was simple.

"_OK."_

After hitting send, Gaara focused once more on his classmate. A tiny smile was flashed his way before Neji shut his phone and shoved it into his pocket. For the remainder of the class, Gaara still found himself being distracted. Only this time, instead of Naruto occupying his thoughts, he found himself studying Neji.

* * *

By the time he made it to the tool shed, Neji was already there waiting. The taller male stood casually leaning against the wall, eyes fixed on the ground. His long legs were crossed at the ankle and his hands were tucked behind him.

Silently, Gaara walked over to the other boy and copied his position. The two remained like that in silence as minutes passed. For Gaara, there was nothing he needed to say so he simply stood there, waiting patiently for his companion to speak. Neji cast a casual glance in Gaara's direction before returning his gaze to the ground before him.

Aside from the breeze blowing, it was quiet. Students generally avoided this part of the school during lunch time as it was the furthest from the main building. As the minutes ticked by, a companionable silence descended around them. When Neji finally spoke, his voice was soft almost as though he was loathe to disrupt the comfortable atmosphere.

"I have an answer for you." The brunet said. "I've always had one actually."

His eyes remained on the ground even when Gaara studied him as he spoke.

"... I've had a crush on you since middle school... I just never had the courage to tell you... You always seemed so... untouchable... out of reach."

Gaara shifted his weight to his left foot, using the right to brace himself against the wall. Still, he said nothing.

Taking a deep breath, Neji pushed himself off the wall in order to stand directly in front of the other male. The look of determination on his near flawless features was one Gaara hadn't seen on the other boy before. Neji's typically cocky facade was notably gone. The brunet's confidence was still there, obvious in his stance, the way he held himself but it was tempered somehow. The redhead arched his brow at the change in demeanor but otherwise kept his thoughts to himself.

"I want you to go out with me. I want you to give me the chance to make you feel about me the way I feel about you."

The words were said quietly but in a steady, sure voice. Gaara carefully considered the boy standing in front him. There was no doubt, no uncertainty, just solid determination and maybe a bit of nervousness, judging by how tightly clenched one of Neji's fists was.

Still, Gaara said nothing, letting his silence extend and fill the space between them. After some long minutes, the redhead finally spoke.

"Alright."

The brunet blinked at the word, a look of surprise briefly passing across his face. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but such an easy acquiescence he'd dared not hope for.

Gaara shrugged at the look of surprise. It was a decision he'd already made. He'd had a while to think about it, and he came to terms with the fact that Neji managed to illicit reactions from him. The other boy was sharp, witty, and dedicated. Gaara enjoyed being around him and even found him physically appealing. Maybe a better term would be attractive? Either way, the redhead had already decided he wanted to explore this further, whatever this was that Neji was making him feel. The brunet was the first person to ever peak Gaara's interest in this way. So to him, the strange surprise was unwarranted.

The two boys stood there, looking at each other, not quite sure what to do next. Neji allowed his eyes to roam over Gaara's features openly. He had, at the most, expected a grudging acceptance from Gaara. Most definitely not this sudden agreement.

The redhead just stood there, passively letting himself be studied. Being stared at never really bothered him. He was used to it.

Neji became wrapped up in his scrutiny. Deciding to test his luck further, he moved closer to the shorter male until only an inch or two separated them.

Gaara remained motionless as he stared back; it wasn't the first time Neji had invaded his personal space.

Gingerly, almost as though he was expecting the redhead to bolt, the brunet lightly brushed a finger along Gaara's jaw. The redhead stiffened at the touch, but didn't pull away. Neji knew he was probably overdoing it and that he'd probably get hurt for his actions, but he'd wanted Gaara for so long that he could no longer resist temptation, not when the object of his dreams was standing barely an inch away, after accepting Neji's feelings for him.

Taking a deep breath, the brunet crossed the space between them.

Before Gaara could even begin contemplating the words, the gap between them closed, replaced by the feel of something soft touching the corner of his mouth. Somewhere, his brain registered that the soft brush was Neji's lips, as the brunet kissed him.

All it took was a slight turn of Gaara's head and their lips were suddenly on each other's.

Gaara went rigid, startled by the sudden intimate contact.

Throwing caution to the wind, the brunet moved closer. Letting his eyes slip close, he gave himself over to the sensation of kissing Gaara. The redhead's lips were soft, just as he'd imagined they would be and even though Gaara was yet to react, the brunet added more pressure, needing to increase the sensation. If he was going to suffer Gaara's wrath for this, he was at least going to enjoy it first.

Once again, Neji found himself being surprised. Ever so slightly, Gaara tentatively pushed back. The encouragement was all Neji needed as he closed the small gap between their bodies, allowing his taller frame to trap the shorter boy against the wall. Gaara was forced to tilt his head up slightly to maintain the contact. He let his eyes slip close as everything else faded away except for the warmth of Neji's lips against his own and the weight of Neji's body against him. Every tiny movement made his lips tingle. Having Neji leaning against him was strange yet enticing, sending whispers of something through him that made his heart race. The kiss remained innocent and uncertain in the boys' lack of experience. It was a first for both but it felt like a promise of things yet to come.

Too soon for Gaara, it was over.

Neji was the one to break the moment, slowly pulling away from the other boy. The sight that greeted him lead to the return of his usual confident smirk. Gaara appeared slightly dazed, lids gradually parting to reveal unfocused eyes. It took a few moments for the redhead to pull himself out of the haze that had descended on him.

The sight of Neji's smirk led to an almost automatic reaction as Gaara opened his mouth to deliver another scathing blow to Neji's ego; only this time, his brain refused to cooperate and he was left looking probably as foolish as he felt. Quickly, the redhead snapped his mouth shut and glared instead. The barely visible dusting of pink that erupted on the teenager's face made his companion chuckle.

"If I'd known this would be how you'd react, I would have done that a long time ago."

"Shut up, Hyuga." Gaara snapped, the dusting brightening to a visible red hue. Shoving the other boy away, Gaara continued to scowl.

"You're cute like that."

Gaara hit him in the gut.

"I'm going back to class." The shorter male bit out, before spinning on his heels and walking off. Neji only stared after the other boy, slightly bent over and rubbing his stomach. Despite the pain, he thoroughly enjoyed the view of Gaara walking away, and to be honest his posture was more for show.

Gaara had pulled his punch... It was more like a love tap.


End file.
